Arena Football League future may be brighter than imagined
If you were an investor, and the Arena Football League was a publicly traded company, you'd be smart to jump in now at a low price.
There is no doubt that the AFL has seen its fair share of troubles. After all, it ceased operations for the 2009 season. But that was great for the future of the league and here's why: it was unsustainable. The mistakes of the league leading up to 2009 are well known, as the league grew too fast with some misguided leadership managing money losely and expanding rapidly, sending salaries skyrocketing to a point where you had to wonder how it would be sustained. Ultimately the league went bankrupt.
A new chapter of Arena Football is being written, and it truly started to take form last year. The league played with four teams in 2018 (Philadelphia Soul, Washington Valor, Albany Empire, and Baltimore Brigade). From the outside, one is quick to judge that having four teams is not a good sign. That assertion couldn't possibly be more incorrect.
The ownership and teams that had the same unsound characteristics of those who folded with the league in 2009, were removed from the equation. In 2018, the league set out on its goal of building a stable and truly scalable operation. Two ownership groups with expertise in building sports operations stepped up and each owned two teams in 2018. Trifecta Sports and Entertainment (owner of the Philadelphia Soul and Albany Empire) and Monumental Sports and Entertainment (owner of the Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade) ran a successful season which saw great attendance numbers in Albany for an expansion team as they drew almost an average of 10,000 fans per game.
The league knows that in order to stand out in a crowded american sports market, the AFL has to embrace the future. Seeing the writing on the wall, the AFL announced many partnerships but none as vital as the groundbreaking deal announced with DraftKings. This deal is expected to pave the way for sports betting to become a part of Arena Football in a way that sports betting hasn't been looked at before.
The year is 2019, and the league is building upon this strong foundation, with the announcement of key expansion teams. One obviously strategic expansion city is Atlantic City. The AFL is making the calculated move to use Atlantic City, which happens to be in New Jersey where statewide sports betting has been approved and DraftKings has a strong foothold, as an example and test of in game sports betting. The hope, when the DraftKings announcement occured, was to eventually mix betting into the game, quite literally. The league slogan this year is "Bet On Us". And the Atlantic City Team has been using "We're All In". In addition, the league logo has been transformed into a gamified looking logo. It is very clear what the AFL is trying to accomplish. More on that to come in future articles.
A perhaps even more exciting announcement was made when the Columbus Destroyers were proclaimed as an expansion team by the league for the 2019 season as well. The Destroyers are a legacy team that has a loyal fanbase and rich history. Head coach of the Chicago Bears, Matt Nagy, played quarterback for the Destroyers from 2007-08, and even did a promotional video for the team shortly after the announcement was made. Columbus is a vitally important fanbase that the league smartly tapped into. Sources are reporting that they are well on their way to possibly 2,500+ season tickets sold. And Albany already passed that mark weeks ago, seeing their season ticket membership rates spiking this year.
Regardless of whether you were a fan of the AFL pre-2009, are currently a passive fan, or haven't even heard of the league before, now is the time to get interested. Now is the time to get invested.