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Rush Wins 2004 Afl Commissioner’s Award

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  • Rush Wins 2004 Afl Commissioner’s Award

    Following its most successful season in franchise history – both on and off the field – the Chicago Rush was recognized with the prestigious Commissioner’s Award, given to the Arena Football League’s organization of the year.

    Voted on by the staff of the AFL’s New York and Chicago offices, the honor rewards excellence in the front office, as well as achievement on the field.

    “Winning the 2004 Commissioner’s Award is a tremendous honor for our organization,” said Mike Polisky, Rush senior vice president and general manager. “It’s a great way of acknowledging the dedicated and passionate efforts of our front office staff, coaches and players.”

    Chicago was the most televised team in the league for the second-consecutive season with 13 games featured on the “AFL on NBC,” including six home games. Spurred on by the team’s “tune in” marketing initiatives, Chicagoland ratings in 2004 increased by nearly 20% versus the team’s 2003 performance.

    The Rush also boasted significant improvement at the box office, as ticket revenues increased by 22%, helping Chicago average more than 14,100 fans per game at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena.

    Corporate sponsorships jumped 42% – and included partnerships with, among others, McDonald’s, Pepsi, LaSalle Bank, Ace Hardware and Anheuser-Busch – while the organization’s integrated advertising campaign and targeted, co-branding promotions boosted brand awareness to an all-time high.

    Chicago also experienced significant growth online, as its newly redesigned Web site, Chicagorush.com, doubled its monthly traffic during 2004 to more than 30,000 unique visitors each month.

    In competition, the Rush ended the regular season with a team-record 11-5 mark and advanced to the ArenaBowl semifinals before being defeated by eventual league champion San Jose. It was Chicago’s fourth-consecutive playoff berth in as many seasons, and second semifinal appearance in the last three years.

    Reservations for season tickets for Chicago’s fifth-anniversary season in 2005 currently are being accepted. In honor of Chicago’s fifth anniversary, the Rush is offering fans the opportunity to reserve their 2005 season tickets for just $5 per seat. To reserve your tickets, or to find out more information, call (877) RUSH-TIX.

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  • DJRamFan
    Nashville Kats return for 2005
    by DJRamFan
    NASHVILLE, TENN. - What goes around comes around. The Nashville Kats will return to action in January 2005 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The addition of the Kats to the Nashville sports landscape will mean that area football fans have the opportunity to enjoy the sport on a yearlong basis, with the Titans season running from August through January and the Kats from February to June.

    Commissioner Baker on Kats' return

    K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr., a founding member of the AFL (American Football League) in 1959, and owner of the Titans/Houston Oilers franchise for 45 years came full circle on Aug. 18, 2001, when his application to purchase an AFL (Arena Football League) team for Nashville was accepted.

    “I am thrilled that we were finally able to put an Arena League team on the field for the football fans in the Mid-South,” said K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr. “One of the things I did when the original Nashville arena team was sold and moved in 2001, was to hire their coach, Pat Sperduto, to work for the Titans until we were able to negotiate a lease with the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Now that things are in place I will hand the head coaching duties of the Kats over to Pat.”

    Pat Sperduto spent three seasons as head coach of the Kats from 1999 - 2001, produced a 32-18 record, three playoff appearances and two ArenaBowl berths. As a player and coach, Sperduto has advanced to the ArenaBowl on five occasions and won three Arena Championships with Tampa Bay.

    In December of 2003, Bob Flynn was hired to be the General Manager of the new arena team and will handle all aspects involved in the administration of a team, including tickets, marketing and promotions. Flynn is a 14-year veteran of the Arena League with stops in Los Angeles and Orlando. During his tenure in Orlando, Flynn was part of an operation that played in four ArenaBowls and winning a championship in 1998.

    The Kats also will have additional stockholders, including the Kats original ownership group (Corner Partnership), led by Mark Bloom.

    Tickets for the games will range from $5 to $99 per game with season ticket packages starting at $45 for the nine-game home season (eight regular season games and one post season game). Starting today, the team will begin taking orders for season tickets either by calling the Kats ticket office at 615-565-4700 (ticket office fax number is 615-565-4212) or by going to titansonline.com and obtaining an on-line order form. A $50 per seat refundable deposit is required to reserve seats. Priority seating will be based on the date that the deposit is received. For former Kats season ticket holders, every effort will be made to locate their seats near their previous seats, but exact placement cannot be guaranteed.

    “Our goal in structuring our ticket prices was to create exciting and affordable entertainment that is accessible to families and young adults,”...
    -08-02-2004, 02:59 PM
  • DJRamFan
    Philyaw Undergoes Successful Surgery
    by DJRamFan
    Chicago Rush quarterback Raymond Philyaw underwent successful surgery Friday afternoon to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Rush announced today.

    Philyaw suffered the injury on a 16-yard scramble early in the second quarter of the team’s June 12 AFL semifinal game in San Jose.

    The 45-minute procedure, performed by Dr. Brian Cole at the Rush Surgicenter in Chicago, was a success and Philyaw is expected to make a full recovery.

    “Raymond will begin his rehab next week,” said Rush team doctor Raj Khanna. “We expect him to be ready to go in time for the start of the 2005 season.”

    After signing as a free agent last October, Philyaw became an integral part of the Rush, helping to lead the team to an 11-5 record, the Central Division title and the AFL semifinals. During the regular season he connected on 247 of 389 passes for 3,053 yards and 52 touchdowns, while only throwing four interceptions. In addition, Philyaw rushed for 57 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns.

    Reservations for 2005 season tickets currently are being accepted. In honor of Chicago’s fifth anniversary season, the Rush is offering fans the opportunity to reserve their season tickets for just $5 per seat. To reserve your tickets, or for more information, just call (877) RUSH-TIX.
    -07-13-2004, 08:52 AM
  • RamWraith
    Rams forecast sellouts, but fans play waiting game
    by RamWraith
    By Tom Timmermann
    ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
    09/07/2006

    It's an issue that hasn't come up in these parts since the 1999 season, but it's something that could come into play as the Rams' season rolls on: Could the team's streak of selling out every game in St. Louis come to an end this year?

    The Rams open their 12th season in St. Louis on Sunday against Denver coming off a 6-10 record and with just one winning season in their past four. The Rams fired Mike Martz and brought in Scott Linehan to turn things around, but if the recovery takes time, who knows how fans will react? The Rams' first exhibition game was blacked out on local television, and the team joined Edward Jones to buy up 2,000 seats at the deadline to get the second game on local TV. And at those games, the number of no-shows was noticeable. Several games toward the end of the season have a few thousand tickets available.

    "Football fans are sophisticated,'' said Rams president John Shaw. "They know there are cycles in sports. I would be surprised if any of our regular season games don't sell out."

    To date, only two of the Rams' eight home games -- against Kansas City and Chicago -- are sold out, and Sunday's opener against Denver almost assuredly will reach that status today. Rams vice president Bob Wallace said about 2,000-3,000 tickets remain at most for other games. But fans may be taking a wait-and-see approach.

    "We're not talking about many tickets," Wallace said. "We put individual tickets on sale right before the blackout, and that slowed things down for the regular-season games. Especially if we have early season success, we'll sell out the ones later in the year."

    The problem, of course, would be if they don't. Since the Rams got off to a 6-0 start and streaked to the Super Bowl in 1999, Rams tickets have been hard to come by and even last year, whether or not games would sell out was never an issue. But in 1998, when the team had its fourth losing record in as many seasons in St. Louis, the team and local TV stations had to dip into their pockets several times to buy remaining seats to put the game on local television, and there were numerous no-shows at games. To date, every regular-season Rams home game has been televised locally.

    Shaw and Wallace say the Rams haven't significantly changed their marketing budget for the year, though the team did go out and hire a marketing consultant, Bob Reif, who used to work with the Miami Dolphins and the Indy Racing League. "You bring in a fresh set of eyes to make sure you're not missing anything,'' Wallace said. Reif declined an interview request on the Rams' marketing plans.

    Wallace said, "I think every year you look to try to expand your brand to try to get people excited about the coming season. Obviously, it's easier coming off an 11-5 playoff season than...
    -09-07-2006, 10:18 AM
  • AlphaRam
    Tulsa Talons Leaving AFL2
    by AlphaRam
    I got this from the Talons today:

    Dear Season Ticket Holder:


    "After a great decade in af2 which saw the Talons post the most wins in league history, the Talons have elected to join a new league called Arena Football 1-Major League Arena Football is Here!! With the AFL going dark, this new league will be the premier arena football league in the country, and as season ticket holders you will now have an opportunity to see the best arena football players in the country.

    The Talons are pleased to announce season ticket prices will remain the same for the 2010 season. Attached you will find a seating chart and a renewal form to be filled out and returned to the Talons’ office to reserve your seats for the 2010 season. You can do this by mailing the form with the deposit to 6221 S. 107th E. Ave Tulsa, Ok 74133 or by faxing the form with the deposit to 918-307-2914."

    The new league will include some AFL teams and some AFL2 teams:

    1. Arizona
    2. Arkansas
    3. Bossier-Shreveport
    4. Central Valley (Fresno, CA)
    5. Chicago
    6. Iowa
    7. Jacksonville
    8. Kentucky
    9. Milwaukee
    10. Oklahoma City
    11. Orlando
    12. Spokane, WA
    13. Tennessee Valley (Alabama)
    14. Tri-Cities Washington
    15. Tulsa
    16. Utah (Salt Lake City)
    -10-02-2009, 07:36 PM
  • RamWraith
    Rams hoping to lift sales of season tickets
    by RamWraith
    By Bill Coats
    ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
    Tuesday, Feb. 05 2008

    The desire to increase season-ticket sales, and not the Rams' worst season
    since moving to St. Louis in 1995, was the major factor in the decision not to
    increase ticket prices for PSL holders, a team executive said Monday.

    "If you look around the league, that happens, that teams still raise prices"
    after poor seasons, said Bob Wallace, the Rams' executive vice president and
    general counsel. "Costs go up for everyone; the salary cap is going up $7
    million next year (to $116 million). So, you can't base it on that. Otherwise,
    you'd always be subject to the win-loss record, and we can't be in that
    situation. …

    "We want to encourage people to buy season tickets. That's how you survive in
    this league, with a strong season-ticket base."

    For the first time in nine years, prices for fans who own personal seat
    licenses are being kept at the previous season's level. The prices for the
    small number of single-game tickets that are available will be "moderately
    increased," according to a statement from the team.

    The average ticket prices for Rams games are expected to fall below the NFL
    average.

    In a letter sent Monday to PSL holders, team president John Shaw wrote that the
    Rams kept prices at 2007 levels "in appreciation and recognition of the PSL
    owners' continued support of the Rams."

    He also promised that the Rams would strive to strengthen personnel through
    free agency and the draft, and would spend to the salary cap. He also wrote
    that the team was looking at ways to improve the game-day experience and
    atmosphere at the Edward Jones Dome.

    The Rams haven't qualified for the playoffs since 2004. Their 3-13 season in
    '07 led to an unprecedented number of local television blackouts. As the Rams
    struggled, turnouts at the Dome suffered. Three of the eight home games failed
    to sell out and, because of NFL rules, could not be televised locally. Two
    other games, vs. Green Bay and Pittsburgh, sold out only because contingents of
    visiting fans bought up large numbers of tickets.
    -02-05-2008, 05:37 AM
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