ARENA FOOTBALL: The AFL opens its 12th season on Friday
and USA TODAY's Steve Hershey writes that the "word is
spreading across middle America." Last year, for the second
successive season, the AFL drew more than 1 million fans,
averaging 10,930 for the 14-week regular season. This year,
47 games will be on national and regional cable TV, with the
Arena Bowl being carried on ABC. The league has an average
ticket price of $12 in '98 and will expand to 15 teams next
season with a new franchise in Buffalo (USA TODAY, 4/29).
RACING: The IRL will open its '99 season at Walt Disney
World in FL on January 24, the first time it will not
compete directly with Super Bowl weekend. The '99 race will
run one week before the Super Bowl (STAR-NEWS, 4/29). ...The
Ford/NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series L.A. Street Race
will take place during Labor Day weekend. William Burke,
who founded the L.A. marathon, has created the race (L.A.
TIMES, 4/28)....In Philadelphia, Bill Fleischman writes on
CART under the header, "CART's In Uphill Race. Quality
High, But Who Are Those Drivers Anyway?" CART "has failed
to develop an American driver with similar appeal" to
NASCAR's Jeff Gordon and its six races on ESPN last year
averaged a 1.1 rating. CART Chair Andrew Craig: "Our
ratings have suffered some decline over the last two or
three years. ... We have some catching up to do, because
we've been a little dead in the water" (DAILY NEWS, 4/29).
