Post by Banana Cat on Jul 29, 2012 5:41:16 GMT -5
www.southwestiowanews.com/council_bluffs/sports/express-looking-forward-to-busy-offseason/article_8eb2eb62-d927-11e1-af7c-0019bb2963f4.html
Express looking forward to busy offseason
July 29, 2012
Tony Boone / nonpareilonline.com
After going through ownership changes in the past two offseasons, the Council Bluffs indoor football franchise is seemingly heading for a more settling time away from the field.
Shortly after the Express lost to the Sioux City Bandits in the American Professional Football League championship game, C.B. co-owner Brad Lindgren was looking toward the future.
The first season for Lindgren and co-owner Justin Hayes was a hectic one that featured changes in the team’s owners, names, uniforms, coaches and players. The fact that the team rallied together to reach the championship game, Lindgren said, was quite a surprise.
“It’s one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done,” he said. “It was year one, and we got through it just fine. There were a lot of learning curves.”
One of the first was learning that the team’s owner doesn’t get to watch a lot of football. Lindgren said only once, at a game in Kansas, was he free of his ownership duties to enjoy the play.
The rest of the time, he was handling business. An owner’s duties are seemingly endless.
Lindgren said the Express staff will begin working toward next season right away, with finding a way to increase the Council Bluffs fan base being the top offseason priority.
“I don’t know what we need to do, but we need to get fans in the door,” he said. “We had great sponsors, and the fans that we do have are tremendous. But we want to get the city to support us. I want Mary and Joe to sit around the water cooler on Monday to figure out if the Express won this week.”
A far-fetched idea? Maybe, maybe not. Indoor football is quite a draw in this area.
The Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League are drawing 8,500 fans per game in Des Moines. The Sioux City Bandits had more than 4,000 in attendance at the APFL title game. And the Omaha Beef of the Indoor Football League have an established following.
Council Bluffs, according to Lindgren, averaged 850 fans per game this summer. The owners, he said, made no money. The players were only paid for the first game of the season.
Many of the teams in the APFL are in similar situations with regards to finances. Players for most franchises aren’t paid, which essentially makes the league professional in name only.
Lindgren said, as owners, they just had to soldier on no matter what issues came up.
“It’s very tough financially, emotionally, physically,” he said. “It takes everything that you’ve got to make it go. I’m up to the task of doing it again, and we will do it again.”
Because of its proximity to Council Bluffs, the fate of the Omaha Beef may directly impact the future of the Express. The Omaha franchise, run by the IFL this past season, is looking for an owner as it prepares to play in the new arena in Ralston next year.
If that team were to fold or be moved to another city, Beef fans would be left without a team. Many of them had already been attending games in C.B. when the Omaha franchise was on the road. Others joined late this summer once the Beef season had ended.
Lindgren said it’s tough to compete with the Omaha team for players because players in the IFL are given $225 per game and free food. The APFL allows $200 in some instances, although the majority of the athletes that are paid are getting $75 per contest.
The Express players, Lindgren said, didn’t seem concerned about payment. Many of them are from the local metro area, and most of them are playing in addition to holding full-time jobs.
“All the guys that we’ve got love the game,” he said, noting that an attendance of 4,000-5,000 would allow C.B. to pay all of its players. “The jewelry is more important than the money.”
The Council Bluffs franchise has advanced to four consecutive APFL championship games, winning the first two of those as the Iowa Blackhawks. But it is still a step behind Sioux City, which hasn’t lost a game since leaving the IFL for the APFL prior to the 2011 season.
Lindgren said the Express will strive to be as strong as that franchise.
“I think we could ultimately after some time, I think we can build that,” he said. “It would be great to get to where this (Sioux City) team is at.”
July 29, 2012
Tony Boone / nonpareilonline.com
After going through ownership changes in the past two offseasons, the Council Bluffs indoor football franchise is seemingly heading for a more settling time away from the field.
Shortly after the Express lost to the Sioux City Bandits in the American Professional Football League championship game, C.B. co-owner Brad Lindgren was looking toward the future.
The first season for Lindgren and co-owner Justin Hayes was a hectic one that featured changes in the team’s owners, names, uniforms, coaches and players. The fact that the team rallied together to reach the championship game, Lindgren said, was quite a surprise.
“It’s one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done,” he said. “It was year one, and we got through it just fine. There were a lot of learning curves.”
One of the first was learning that the team’s owner doesn’t get to watch a lot of football. Lindgren said only once, at a game in Kansas, was he free of his ownership duties to enjoy the play.
The rest of the time, he was handling business. An owner’s duties are seemingly endless.
Lindgren said the Express staff will begin working toward next season right away, with finding a way to increase the Council Bluffs fan base being the top offseason priority.
“I don’t know what we need to do, but we need to get fans in the door,” he said. “We had great sponsors, and the fans that we do have are tremendous. But we want to get the city to support us. I want Mary and Joe to sit around the water cooler on Monday to figure out if the Express won this week.”
A far-fetched idea? Maybe, maybe not. Indoor football is quite a draw in this area.
The Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League are drawing 8,500 fans per game in Des Moines. The Sioux City Bandits had more than 4,000 in attendance at the APFL title game. And the Omaha Beef of the Indoor Football League have an established following.
Council Bluffs, according to Lindgren, averaged 850 fans per game this summer. The owners, he said, made no money. The players were only paid for the first game of the season.
Many of the teams in the APFL are in similar situations with regards to finances. Players for most franchises aren’t paid, which essentially makes the league professional in name only.
Lindgren said, as owners, they just had to soldier on no matter what issues came up.
“It’s very tough financially, emotionally, physically,” he said. “It takes everything that you’ve got to make it go. I’m up to the task of doing it again, and we will do it again.”
Because of its proximity to Council Bluffs, the fate of the Omaha Beef may directly impact the future of the Express. The Omaha franchise, run by the IFL this past season, is looking for an owner as it prepares to play in the new arena in Ralston next year.
If that team were to fold or be moved to another city, Beef fans would be left without a team. Many of them had already been attending games in C.B. when the Omaha franchise was on the road. Others joined late this summer once the Beef season had ended.
Lindgren said it’s tough to compete with the Omaha team for players because players in the IFL are given $225 per game and free food. The APFL allows $200 in some instances, although the majority of the athletes that are paid are getting $75 per contest.
The Express players, Lindgren said, didn’t seem concerned about payment. Many of them are from the local metro area, and most of them are playing in addition to holding full-time jobs.
“All the guys that we’ve got love the game,” he said, noting that an attendance of 4,000-5,000 would allow C.B. to pay all of its players. “The jewelry is more important than the money.”
The Council Bluffs franchise has advanced to four consecutive APFL championship games, winning the first two of those as the Iowa Blackhawks. But it is still a step behind Sioux City, which hasn’t lost a game since leaving the IFL for the APFL prior to the 2011 season.
Lindgren said the Express will strive to be as strong as that franchise.
“I think we could ultimately after some time, I think we can build that,” he said. “It would be great to get to where this (Sioux City) team is at.”