Houston will receive a franchise in the newly formed
Regional Football League (RFL), scheduled to start in March
'98, along with teams in Boston; Shreveport; Mobile; Akron
and Wilmington, DE, according to Richard Dean of the HOUSTON
CHRONICLE. Houston businessmen Garey and Greg Willbanks and
Brandon Bridwell, who purchased the rights to the franchise,
are "obligated" to put up a $1M franchise fee, not due until
the actual formation of the league. Bridwell: "We are going
to listen to and talk to people about other ownership
interest and sponsorships." RFL Commissioner Gus Bell: "The
quality of play will be somewhere between the CFL and the
NFL. We're not trying to compete with the NFL. We're
trying to be the major league of the spring." Bell, on a
possible TV deal: "We have a proposal coming from Fox Sports
Net and also are looking at the possibility of ESPN." Dean
added the Houston franchise "hopes to play its home games at
the Astrodome" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/24).
ON THE INSIDE OUT: The WA-based Professional Indoor
Football League (PIFL) has granted a franchise to Hawaii for
its '98 season, which will be owned by two local Honolulu
businessmen to be announced later this month. The team will
play in the 6,500-seat Neal Blaizdell Arena in downtown
Honolulu. PIFL will also announce a Madison, WI, team later
this month and has accepted deposits and applications for
teams in '99 from Tampa; Southern CA and a team in AR, which
will join teams in Billings, MN; Austin, TX; and Charleston,
WV. League officials said they are currently "in the
talking stages" with several independent cable TV networks
about doing a "Game of the Week" in '98 (PIFL).
