Hey, Nebraska and western Iowa, are you ready for some more football?
This almost-always-hungry-for-pigskin area is about to sample a new item on its sports menu the United Football League, a professional minor league with some NFL flavor.
A press conference Thursday involving Mayor Jim Suttle and UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue is expected to formalize Omaha’s status as one of two expansion teams in the two-year-old league.
The Omaha/Nebraska team has no name yet. Or a roster. Or an official place to play, though the likely spot is the under-construction TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, home of the College World Series beginning in 2011.
So what do we know? Here are some questions and answers gleaned from UFL material and newspaper accounts.
Q. What’s the basic premise of the league?
A. To provide a home for players who are close to NFL caliber while offering a quality product at affordable prices in under-served markets. The average ticket price last year was $20.
Q. So who plays in this league? Am I going to see my plumber, UPS driver and favorite restaurant manager suit up?
A. Not hardly. Many have NFL experience or have been in training camps.
At the end of last season, more than 30 UFL players moved on to the NFL. Here’s a sampling of last season’s players: Quarterback J.P. Losman, a former No. 1 NFL draft pick; defensive end Simeon Rice, a longtime NFL star; and quarterback Brooks Bollinger, the first-year MVP.
Among those still on protected lists: running back Michael Pittman, who played for Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII; linebacker Teddy Lehman, a former Oklahoma star; and running back Shannon Woods out of Texas Tech.
Two of the coaches, Dennis Green and Chris Palmer, are former NFL head coaches.
Q. Any players with Nebraska ties on the rosters?
A. The combined 80-man protected lists for the four current teams show two ex-Huskers — running backs Marlon Lucky and Cory Ross — and defensive tackle Chris Cooper of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Q. What time of year are the games?
A. The 2010 schedule is set to begin in early September. After a 10-game regular season, a championship game will be played Thanksgiving weekend.
As of now, games are scheduled for Friday nights and Saturday nights.
Q. What teams already exist?
A. The Florida Tuskers (Orlando), the Las Vegas Locomotives, the Hartford Colonials (moved from New York) and the Sacramento Mountain Lions (moved from San Jose-San Francisco).
The Locomotives defeated the Tuskers 20-17 in last season’s title game.
Q. How might a UFL franchise impact the local economy?
A. That’s difficult to determine, though around 50 full-time and part-time jobs could be created.
Q. What is the league’s financial health?
A. Attendance last year averaged less than 10,000 a game, which was about half of what was projected. The league lost $30 million in the first season, but hopes to break even by 2011.
Contact the writer:
444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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