Cleveland to compete in Arena Football League
Tuesday October 16, 2007
Bernie Kosar to be Named President/CEO
CLEVELAND (October 16, 2007) - The Arena Football League is coming to Cleveland. Team owner JIM FERRARO received approval from the AFL Board of Directors at a meeting in Chicago last week to relocate his team from Las Vegas to Cleveland to play at the Quicken Loans Arena for the 2008 season.
Ferraro has also named former NFL quarterback and Ohio native BERNIE KOSAR to serve as part-owner, president and CEO of the franchise.
"We are excited to be bringing the fast-paced action of Arena Football to the city of Cleveland," said Ferraro. "We will have one of the best arenas in the League and Bernie is the perfect match to lead the charge."
Kosar, who won a national championship with the Miami Hurricanes in 1984, played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns (1985-93), Dallas Cowboys (1993) and Miami Dolphins (1994-96).
"Cleveland is legendary for its passion for football, which makes it ideal to host an AFL team," said AFL Commissioner DAVID BAKER. "I'm convinced the football fans of northern Ohio will truly enjoy the AFL's hard-hitting action played by world class athletes, who sign autographs after every game."
“We are pleased to welcome the Arena Football League to Cleveland and to The Q,” said LEN KOMOROSKI, president of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena. “Under the leadership of one of Cleveland’s own football heroes, Bernie Kosar, and having the local ownership in Jim Ferraro and his successful law firm, we know that the new team will have great success in a city that loves its sports. We are very happy to have Arena Football join the Cavaliers and Monsters, and our entire family of events that make Quicken Loans Arena the region’s leader in sports and entertainment.”
Deposits for 2008 season tickets can be made by calling (216) 298-6979 or by logging onto www.clevelandafl.com.
Quicken Loans Arena
Quicken Loans Arena, nicknamed “The Q,” is home to the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters, and Cleveland’s new Arena Football League team that will begin play in 2008. Quicken Loans Arena also hosts the Mid-American Conference men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments in March. Close to two million people attend close to 200 events at Quicken Loans Arena each year that includes world-class concerts, spectacular family shows and signature sporting events.