Arena Football coming to New England "remains a
possibility" for the '99-2000 season, as Patriots VP
Jonathan Kraft met with AFL Commissioner David Baker "a
couple of weeks ago to discuss the possibility" of Patriots
Owner Robert Kraft bringing a team to the area, according to
Nick Cafardo of the BOSTON GLOBE. The team would play its
games at either the FleetCenter, Worcester Centrum or
Providence, RI, Civic Center. Cafardo wrote that the Krafts
"would likely use local ex-Patriots players as coaches, and
use many local players from Boston College and Northeastern"
to fill the 20-man rosters (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/19).
ON THE UPSIDE: The AFL's FL Bobcats and the Nashville
Kats will play a regular-season game at K.C.'s Kemper Arena
on Saturday, and in K.C., Steve Rock examined the growth of
the league, and noted that franchises are being bought for
"around" $3M each. In addition, the AFL "is working more
closely with the NFL than ever before and finally is making
its way into the national sports lexicon." AFL VP/Media
Services Dave Cooper: "In an industry that's saturated with
sports, the fans keep coming out" (K.C. STAR, 7/19).
