Upstart UFL Plans To Work With NFL, Not Try To Challenge

United Football League (UFL) Commissioner Michael Huyghue yesterday said that the new league's goal is to "work with the NFL," according to Matt Barrows of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Huyghue yesterday at a press conference said, "I think the robust feeling that 'we're going to take the NFL on' is a foolish ploy." Under the UFL's plan, all four teams would "have an affiliation with NFL divisions." The UFL, which is scheduled to begin play in October, plans to "experiment with gadgets -- GPS devices inside footballs, cameras to document halftime speeches -- but the rules won't stray far from NFL rules." The league "might use NFL officials for its games." Huyghue said that the league's S.F. franchise plans to host two games at AT&T Park and one at Sacramento's Hornet Stadium, though the details of that game are "still being worked out." Huyghue noted that the S.F. franchise "ultimately could wind up in Sacramento depending on attendance/interest in the two cities." S.F. Owner Paul Pelosi said the 49ers have "made it clear that they want to be in San Jose, elsewhere. ... So we might end up -- will probably end up -- being the only team up here." The league this season also will have franchises based in Las Vegas, Orlando and N.Y., and "plans to either expand to six or eight teams next season." Hartford and L.A. "appear to be the leading candidates for expansion" (SACBEE.com, 3/11). Huyghue said that Las Vegas' home games will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium, and that the team's ownership group will be announced in a "couple of weeks" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/12).

Michael Vick And Other Players With Past Incidents May Be Welcome In UFL

THE BUSINESS MODEL: Pelosi said that $30M was "used to launch the four franchises" -- all of which will be headquartered in Casa Grande, Arizona -- and that the league was an "attractive business opportunity despite the current economy." Pelosi: "From a financial point of view, it's a tremendous opportunity. Recession is a time for opportunity, and this is a good example. We're going to deliver a very good product at a very reasonable price." In DC, Ryan O'Halloran reports each UFL player in the first season must "sign a one-year contract that binds him to the UFL until Thanksgiving." However, Huyghue said eventually there could be "some likely synergies between us and the NFL and players moving back and forth between the two leagues" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/12). In S.F., Nancy Gay notes UFL supporters are "convinced their business and game features -- $20 tickets, hard caps on coaches' and players' salaries, a game ball with a GPS chip, a free spirit about end-zone celebrations and cameras televising fiery halftime speeches -- will add up to a winning product." Huyghue said, "We don't intend to be a league of renegades, but having said that, there will be opportunities for players who have had incidents in the past. Each case will be balanced against the risks associated with that. But I would say if the right circumstances exist, we would welcome Michael Vick into our league" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/12).

BUILT FOR SUCCESS? In Sacramento, Bill Bradley writes this is "not only the wrong time for a new league, it's the wrong league to compete with the NFL, even if it says it will be complementary" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 3/12). SI.com's Arash Markazi writes while "on the surface this seems like another disaster and probably will be as it's currently laid out," if UFL officials are "willing to think outside the box and open the league up, they just might be able to survive." The idea of having four teams, "headlined by recognizable coaches, staying and training in one central location might seem odd but it has all the makings of a hit reality television series." The show could be a "six-week, all-access journey into the lives of these players and coaches as they help build an upstart league and possibly make it back to the NFL." It would be a "mix of the Real World, American Idol and The Ultimate Fighter unfolding on the football field every week." That is "how you build a fan base, by telling stories and creating a connection between the audience and the performers" (FANNATION.com, 3/12).