Bakersfield, CA, has been awarded an af2 franchise to
begin play in 2002 at the Centennial Garden. Execs from the
AFL Avengers, owned by Casey Wasserman, will oversee the
franchise. While the team's application has been approved
by the af2 BOD, it still must be approved by the AFL BOD,
scheduled to take place next month. Centennial Garden,
which is the home for the WCHL Condors, will seat 8,796 for
the af2 (Avengers). Wasserman said Bakersfield "clearly
distinguished itself from all the other towns we looked at."
Meanwhile, SMG Exec Dir Jim Foss, whose company operates
Centennial Garden, said that he "has little doubt that the
new team will be well-received." Foss: "This town is rich
in football tradition. On any given Friday, over 15,000
people are watching local high school heroes play football,
as well as another 4,000 or 5,000 over at (Bakersfield
College). There's a tremendous amount of football support
and there's no doubt in my mind that this team will bring a
tremendous amount of excitement" (Bakr. CALIFORNIAN, 11/21).
SCHEERGAME TO HELP LEAGUE: ScheerGame Sports
Development has been retained by af2 as a consultant,
assisting the league with brand launch phases, as well as
with arena development and renovation issues (ScheerGame).
