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Post by spiderfan on Dec 15, 2016 17:57:04 GMT -8
I'm wondering if there are any expansion rumors for the IFL and what the current state of the league is compared to the AFL. I don't know much about the IFL so I'm eager to learn.
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 15, 2016 18:51:02 GMT -8
I know you have seen me talk about Terry Emmert possibly bringing his Thunder brand to the IFL. My sister has a source who confirmed the IFL and Emmert have had talks over the past year. No application has been submitted though. Of course, with that, I would think any of those discussions and an application would have been dependent on the future (or lack there of) of the Steel in Portland. Here is the link to that story. Tri-Cities has gone dormant for 2017, but they are in good standing so if they can get things in order on their end, they would be welcomed back to the IFL. There have been a couple of things said about Minnesota having a team at some point, but I have not heard anything for a while. The IFL's goal is for 16 teams in the next few years. It is a regional league based in the Northern Midwest. I would think any reasonably sized city could be a candidate. Boise, Seattle, and even the Bay Area could be options. Billings just folded, but I could see another team in Montana. We are working on an exclusive which could provide more information. I will let you know when that happens! |
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Post by spiderfan on Dec 15, 2016 19:13:05 GMT -8
I know you have seen me talk about Terry Emmert possibly bringing his Thunder brand to the IFL. My sister has a source who confirmed the IFL and Emmert have had talks over the past year. No application has been submitted though. Of course, with that, I would think any of those discussions and an application would have been dependent on the future (or lack there of) of the Steel in Portland. Here is the link to that story. Tri-Cities has gone dormant for 2017, but they are in good standing so if they can get things in order on their end, they would be welcomed back to the IFL. There have been a couple of things said about Minnesota having a team at some point, but I have not heard anything for a while. The IFL's goal is for 16 teams in the next few years. It is a regional league based in the Northern Midwest. I would think any reasonably sized city could be a candidate. Boise, Seattle, and even the Bay Area could be options. Billings just folded, but I could see another team in Montana. We are working on an exclusive which could provide more information. I will let you know when that happens! Looking forward to it. Sounds interesting.  |
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Post by David on Dec 15, 2016 23:55:26 GMT -8
I had a short interview with Ryan Eucker (the Empire's GM & Director of Operations) on SoundCloud, which I think I linked in my United Bowl preview, and he had mentioned Bismarck, North Dakota as a potential spot to come for 2017. It looks like that never materialized. But yeah, Angi's basically filled in everything that we know. She didn't mention about the two teams that folded prior to the 2016 season, the Minnesota (formerly Bemidji) Axemen and the expansion Minnesota Havok. I wrote stuff on them you can find below: Axemen postHavok postNot included in the Havok post was actual details regarding the Havok's demise. Someone posted this on Wikipedia, which makes sense. While there are some ownership groups that are either in debt or unstable, the beauty of the IFL is that they don't force the other owners to pay that team's bills. Instead of forcing the other owners to pay that team's bills, the IFL just flat out terminate's that team's membership in the league. If you can't pay your bills, you're out. Billings and Tri-Cities did try and find perspective ownerships. They weren't so much bad owners, but they wanted to sell the teams and they couldn't find buyers for it. Colorado was facing the same fate but FANchise came in and bought the team. While it's argued on ArenaFan that the IFL has seen more teams come and go, you have to consider what the league was being run as. Before the current commissioner, the league basically took any team in and those teams ended up fizzling out. One such team, the Alaska Wild, folded mid season because the owner ran out of money. Since then, the league has tried bringing in more reliable, stable ownership groups. It's like what the AFL's been trying to do, but instead of banking on an NHL/NBA ownership group, the IFL just looks for steady investors to help grow the product and be stable. |
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Post by spiderfan on Dec 16, 2016 6:11:08 GMT -8
It's like what the AFL's been trying to do, but instead of banking on an NHL/NBA ownership group, the IFL just looks for steady investors to help grow the product and be stable. This. ^^^ I've been trying to push this on Arenafan but very few people actually want to hear it. Hopefully, the IFL can get to 16 teams in the next few years. |
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Post by Nevadanut on Dec 16, 2016 12:44:46 GMT -8
I remember what Ryan Eucker said about Bismarck, N.D. I would like to think that could still be an option down the road.
I'd love for there to be a team in Portland. I could even get behind a team in Sparks/Reno.
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Post by spiderfan on Dec 16, 2016 13:18:09 GMT -8
I remember what Ryan Eucker said about Bismarck, N.D. I would like to think that could still be an option down the road. I'd love for there to be a team in Portland. I could even get behind a team in Sparks/Reno. Me too. Though I think it would be good to also see a team in the Southwest/Southeast. So somewhere like Baton Rouge, San Antonio, El Paso, maybe even Louisville. I also have a feeling that if the IFL expands out east the Sharks would join. Though, if that is not feasible correct me. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 16, 2016 23:12:35 GMT -8
It's like what the AFL's been trying to do, but instead of banking on an NHL/NBA ownership group, the IFL just looks for steady investors to help grow the product and be stable. This. ^^^ I've been trying to push this on Arenafan but very few people actually want to hear it. Hopefully, the IFL can get to 16 teams in the next few years. For most on ArenaFan, you cannot tell them anything. There is an arrogance among many. We all know about Adam's ego. Adam has his head so far up Butera and Leonsis' butts, and Bill has his his head so far up Adam's, it's like a who ArenaFan Centipede thing going on. A few years ago the Blazers fired Nate McMillan as their head coach. I believe he was a good coach and he had had had some good years. However, at least in his last couple of years, the game had passed him by. He became irrelevant to knowing what it took to make the team successful. Like I said, the game had passed him by. As far as analysis of the AFL, the game has passed by the "experts" and "Gurus" of ArenaFan. The same things they were saying were negatives a couple of years ago are all bright and shiny now with Butera in the picture. Leonsis is a little bit of fresh air, but the AFL has burned too many owners and markets which fit into Butera's NBA/NHL plan. Just look at Butera's failure in luring Paul Allen to the AFL. Other such potential owners who may be interested are unlikely to get involved in a league which is in the state the AFL is in, regardless of how much some on ArenaFan love Butera and loathe Jerry Kurz. The truth of the matter is that there was nothing Butera could have done to get Paul Allen to buy the Steel. He failed before he even tried. |
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Post by spiderfan on Dec 17, 2016 19:10:23 GMT -8
This. ^^^ I've been trying to push this on Arenafan but very few people actually want to hear it. Hopefully, the IFL can get to 16 teams in the next few years. For most on ArenaFan, you cannot tell them anything. There is an arrogance among many. We all know about Adam's ego. Adam has his head so far up Butera and Leonsis' butts, and Bill has his his head so far up Adam's, it's like a who ArenaFan Centipede thing going on. A few years ago the Blazers fired Nate McMillan as their head coach. I believe he was a good coach and he had had had some good years. However, at least in his last couple of years, the game had passed him by. He became irrelevant to knowing what it took to make the team successful. Like I said, the game had passed him by. As far as analysis of the AFL, the game has passed by the "experts" and "Gurus" of ArenaFan. The same things they were saying were negatives a couple of years ago are all bright and shiny now with Butera in the picture. Leonsis is a little bit of fresh air, but the AFL has burned too many owners and markets which fit into Butera's NBA/NHL plan. Just look at Butera's failure in luring Paul Allen to the AFL. Other such potential owners who may be interested are unlikely to get involved in a league which is in the state the AFL is in, regardless of how much some on ArenaFan love Butera and loathe Jerry Kurz. The truth of the matter is that there was nothing Butera could have done to get Paul Allen to buy the Steel. He failed before he even tried. What sucks is that I hate to say "The AFL probably won't have a 2019 season" but that is what it seems like. Well, glad to be on this forum. You guys have been nice and respectful to me unlike Arenafan. I appreciate it |
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Post by Nevadanut on Dec 19, 2016 11:39:47 GMT -8
I remember Angi saying that the IFL and CIF co-exist really well. Since they are in similar regions of the country, what might be the odds that one day they merge to form one stronger league?
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Post by Nevadanut on Dec 19, 2016 11:42:43 GMT -8
For most on ArenaFan, you cannot tell them anything. There is an arrogance among many. We all know about Adam's ego. Adam has his head so far up Butera and Leonsis' butts, and Bill has his his head so far up Adam's, it's like a who ArenaFan Centipede thing going on. A few years ago the Blazers fired Nate McMillan as their head coach. I believe he was a good coach and he had had had some good years. However, at least in his last couple of years, the game had passed him by. He became irrelevant to knowing what it took to make the team successful. Like I said, the game had passed him by. As far as analysis of the AFL, the game has passed by the "experts" and "Gurus" of ArenaFan. The same things they were saying were negatives a couple of years ago are all bright and shiny now with Butera in the picture. Leonsis is a little bit of fresh air, but the AFL has burned too many owners and markets which fit into Butera's NBA/NHL plan. Just look at Butera's failure in luring Paul Allen to the AFL. Other such potential owners who may be interested are unlikely to get involved in a league which is in the state the AFL is in, regardless of how much some on ArenaFan love Butera and loathe Jerry Kurz. The truth of the matter is that there was nothing Butera could have done to get Paul Allen to buy the Steel. He failed before he even tried. What sucks is that I hate to say "The AFL probably won't have a 2019 season" but that is what it seems like. Well, glad to be on this forum. You guys have been nice and respectful to me unlike Arenafan. I appreciate it We're glad you're here. Having respectful conversations about those things is what Kasey had in mind when she started this forum. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 19, 2016 20:38:33 GMT -8
For most on ArenaFan, you cannot tell them anything. There is an arrogance among many. We all know about Adam's ego. Adam has his head so far up Butera and Leonsis' butts, and Bill has his his head so far up Adam's, it's like a who ArenaFan Centipede thing going on. A few years ago the Blazers fired Nate McMillan as their head coach. I believe he was a good coach and he had had had some good years. However, at least in his last couple of years, the game had passed him by. He became irrelevant to knowing what it took to make the team successful. Like I said, the game had passed him by. As far as analysis of the AFL, the game has passed by the "experts" and "Gurus" of ArenaFan. The same things they were saying were negatives a couple of years ago are all bright and shiny now with Butera in the picture. Leonsis is a little bit of fresh air, but the AFL has burned too many owners and markets which fit into Butera's NBA/NHL plan. Just look at Butera's failure in luring Paul Allen to the AFL. Other such potential owners who may be interested are unlikely to get involved in a league which is in the state the AFL is in, regardless of how much some on ArenaFan love Butera and loathe Jerry Kurz. The truth of the matter is that there was nothing Butera could have done to get Paul Allen to buy the Steel. He failed before he even tried. What sucks is that I hate to say "The AFL probably won't have a 2019 season" but that is what it seems like. Well, glad to be on this forum. You guys have been nice and respectful to me unlike Arenafan. I appreciate it I know Heidi mentioned it below, but I can tell you that being respectful of other people and opinions is at the forefront of what my sister wanted this site to be. We do not have to agree on everything. Sometimes we will and other times we will not. What we can always do is listen and present our opinions. We can do that here without fear of personal attacks and/or inappropriate material. Kasey has said it before, but this is the idea she had when she started the forum. At the time, our youngest sister was 5-1/2. She actually is turning 9 today. Monika loves to look over our shoulders when we're online. Kasey did not want her to ever be looking over our shoulders at this site and see something that a 5-1/2 year old should not see. It is that simple. I am glad you appreciate that! I do not think the AFL will have a season by 2019 either. I know our "friends" think every NBA and NHL owner is knocking down Butera's door begging him to join the league (okay, a bit of an exaggeration!), but several of those owners and cities have been burned. Most others are likely not going to be interested in sinking their money into such a flailing league. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 19, 2016 20:58:12 GMT -8
I remember Angi saying that the IFL and CIF co-exist really well. Since they are in similar regions of the country, what might be the odds that one day they merge to form one stronger league? Just a guess, but I do not see that happening real soon. The IFL has a great mindset right now. The CIF is working on it, but I think they've got a great start. They just need a little bit more stability. I like to think there is a mutual respect between the two leagues. I have not seen any indication to think that is not the case. |
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