Milwaukee Iron become newest af2 entry

Friday October 3, 2008

Arena Football returns to Brew City for 2009     

CHICAGO – The Milwaukee Iron have become the newest member of the arenafootball2 (af2) league, the League office officially announced today. The Iron will begin play in the af2 in 2009.

The Iron were forged by an operating group led by DREW VALLOZZI, whose family owned and operated Milwaukee’s only other Arena Football team, the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League. The Mustangs called Milwaukee home for eight AFL seasons from 1994-2001.

When the af2 began in 2000, a rule was put in place that granted AFL teams the ability to purchase af2 team rights in their market. Thanks to that rule, the Milwaukee Mustangs group purchased the af2 rights to the Madison, Wisc. market, which the AFL at that time determined was in the Milwaukee Mustangs territory.

The ownership group has since decided that this year was the right time to exercise their right to activate the Madison af2 market. That group also decided that this team would play in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center and be known formally as the Milwaukee Iron. 

““We (af2) are excited to announce that Arena Football will be returning to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with the Milwaukee Iron as the newest member of the af2 family,” said af2 President Jerry Kurz. “I have the utmost confidence in this operating group’s commitment to run a top-notch organization both on and off the field, one that the great fans of Southeast Wisconsin will enjoy for many years to come.”

About af2

With its 10th season set to begin in the spring, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which finished its 22nd season in July. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.