Arena League Signs Corcoran's Shamrock Sports As Sales Agency

By Terry Lefton, Editor-At-Large

The AFL, relaunching in April under a single-entity structure, has named Shamrock Sports Group as its exclusive sales agency. Shamrock, located in Portland, Maine, is headed by former NASCAR and Fenway Sports Group exec Brian Corcoran. Corcoran noted that he had sold AFL sponsorships while working for SFX. He said Shamrock will be selling sponsorship inventory including NFL Network ads, promotional platforms including Player of the Game/Week/Year and Fan of the Game/Week/Year; dasher signage; turf square signage; uniform patches; field goal net signage; and digital ads on Arenafootball.com. The new version of the indoor football league bought the assets of the old AFL for $6.1M. After cancelling its '09 season and eventually declaring bankruptcy, the AFL will start April 2 with 15 teams. Earlier this year, the AFL announced a TV deal under which its games will air live on NFL Network Friday nights from April 2 through the Arena Bowl championship game in late August.