The city of Baltimore will welcome a new AFL franchise, with the "deep pocketed" Monumental Sports & Entertainment ownership group "hoping to lure fans to Royal Farms Arena beginning in the spring," according to a front-page piece by Jeff Barker of the Baltimore SUN. The franchise, which "does not yet have a name or head coach, amounts to an experiment" by MSE Founder, Chair, Majority Owner & CEO Ted Leonsis. Leonsis said that he is "banking on regional rivalries and a live-streaming sports network launched last month to generate interest." Leonsis: "This might be a crazy idea, but if you're an entrepreneur you are not afraid of risk. I'm not afraid of failure, if you will. We're going to go for it." City officials said that the team "will produce an increase in downtown pedestrian traffic and a welcome new tenant for Royal Farms Arena, where it will join" the Major Arena Soccer League Baltimore Blast. It is "not known how many home games will be scheduled." The arena, which seats about 11,500 for sporting events, is 55 years old, and city officials have "long talked about renovating or replacing it." Leonsis said that his "extensive holdings will give him an advantage over owners whose teams disbanded or fled the league." The league lost teams this year from L.A., Phoenix, Orlando, Jacksonville and Portland. Leonsis said, "None of the owners who left owned a building or owned other sports teams in which they could leverage that infrastructure." Leonsis said that that includes "ticket sales, marketing and game day operations." Royal Farms Arena is "owned by the city and overseen by SMG" (Baltimore SUN, 11/15).
NAME THAT TEAM: Leonsis in an appearance on WTOP-FM yesterday morning said that the Washington Valor "will be under the same ownership as the Baltimore franchise, but will have separate management and coaching staffs." He added that the team "will be given a name in the next 30 days." In Baltimore, Jonathan Munshaw noted the city's franchise "will be only the fifth team in the league." Royal Farms Arena GM Frank Remesch said that the deal with Leonsis "only came together in the past two weeks or so." Remesch "envisions crowds of between 3,000 and 6,000 fans for each home game" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/14).
