The AFL announced this week that Little Rock (AR) is
one of six cities that "have met requirements" for an AFL2
franchise to kick off in May 2000, according to Jeffrey
Slatton of the ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE. The Little Rock
franchise will play at the new Alltel Arena and will be
operated by ECHL RiverBlades President & GM Dave Berryman.
Berryman, who said that he has been talking with the AFL
since last fall: "We're just waiting for their direction. I
think the formal announcement would come from the [league]
office in the next couple of days." Other markets that
received approval for a franchise include: Biloxi (MS), to
be run by ECHL Sea Wolves and Bombers Owner Jean Gagnon;
Oklahoma City, to be run by CHL Blazers Owner Brad Lund;
Quad Cities (IL/IA), to be run by AFL Barnstormers President
& Managing Owner Jim Foster; Shreveport (LA), to be run by
Richard Davis; and Tulsa, to be run by CHL Oilers Owner Jeff
Lund. AFL VP/League Development Mary Ellen Garling said
that 20 markets are applying for teams for next season and
the complete list of teams will be released on August 2
(DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, 6/23). Jeff Lund said he was contacted
by the AFL because of the financial success of his CHL team.
Lund, on his team's profit margin being ranked in the top 15
among all 152 minor league hockey teams in the U.S.: "Rather
than just go to individuals that have the money and want to
operate a sports team, [the AFL] looked at who's doing it
now and who's successful at it" (TULSA WORLD, 6/23).
