by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Jacksonville’s newest football team has a name — and football fans won’t have to go to the beach to see them.
The ownership group for the city’s new Arena Football 1 team officially announced the team’s name — the Jacksonville Sharks — as well as other information about the team today during an introductory press conference with the media.
While the highlights included the name, logo, colors and coach — arena football veteran Les Moss — it’s the highlights on the field and league business model that Managing Partner Jeff Bouchy says will make the venture successful.
“It’s a huge day for us,” said Bouchy on the announcement. “We’re excited and we hope Jacksonville will be, too … It’s a new league, a new economic model and it’s going to make money.”
Bouchy is an arena football veteran who was most recently with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. The league ceased operations, though, from what Bouchy said was out-of-control spending from all points that led to the teams losing money.
The Arena Football 1 model of keeping player, coach and marketing dollars down is what brought him back to the sport and will ultimately make it successful — from an ownership and fan perspective.
By keeping costs down, the price point as a fan also remains low and is one of the league’s biggest selling points, he said. The team will play its home games at the Veteran’s Memorial Arena where it can be situated for 13,066 fans, with more than 12,000 of those seats scheduled to cost $17 a game, said Bouchy. The league will play a 16-game schedule with eight home games and many season tickets costing $45.
“Price wise it can be tough for fans to afford season tickets to their favorite teams,” said Bouchy. “We’re making it affordable for a great product.”
Arena Football 1 Commissioner Jerry Kurz was in town for the press conference and said the timing of creating the league was just right.
“It couldn’t be better,” he said.
It was a mutual reaching out between the ownership group — consisting of Bouchy, Steve Curran and Larry Payne and himself to bring a team to Jacksonville, said Kurz. Facilities and fan support are a big part of the equation, but Jacksonville has both.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” he said of the Arena. “I have no doubt this community will support this team. Jacksonville has as good and as dedicated fans of football as there are.”
The final number of teams isn’t official yet, said Kurz, but it will be announced soon once lease agreements with teams and their respective facilities is final.
Additionally, the league will have a TV deal with a national channel that will showcase its game of the week, with more information in the near future.
Businesses should expect to hear from Bouchy following the Thanksgiving holidays, but he does have a message for fans.
“It’s going to be exciting and it’s going to be an event,” he said. “We want fans to be a part of this and if they aren’t, we want their friends to come away telling them they really missed out … it’s a great product.”
For more information, go to www.jaxsharks.com or call 621-0700.
356-2466