ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
Former NFL quarterbacks Joe Kapp and Craig Morton announced plans Tuesday for a new professional football league they said would begin play in September.
The enterprise, called All-Star Football, expects to have 16 franchises playing games on Sundays in direct competition with the NFL. Other new leagues such as the World Football League and U.S. Football League did not try direct confrontations with the establishment with a full fall-to -winter schedule, yet both still failed.
``How can you succeed playing football in the summer?'' Kapp said. ``We're a moving pocket. We'll adjust. If they play in the afternoon, we might play at night. If it's affordable, it will succeed. We don't have to beat them. We've got a plan that works.''
The league will not have traditional franchise owners. Instead, all franchises will be owned by the league with players, employees of the league, owning equity in the company. Teams will operate under a balanced budget mandate that links expenses with revenues.
The league has plans for teams in New York; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; Hartford, Conn.; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Houston; San Jose, Calif.; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; El Paso, Wis.; and Mexico City.
``Too many cities have been left out for too long,'' Kapp said. ``Who says Columbus can't have a team? Milwaukee's been shut out [of the NFL] by Green Bay. Oakland sold out 268 straight [NFL] games and then left and then came back. They left LA without a team. The Jets and Giants are in New Jersey. New York doesn't have a team.''
In each case, Kapp said there were stadiums available to franchises, citing Shea Stadium in New York, the Los Angeles Coliseum, Tiger Stadium in Detroit and the Orange Bowl in Miami as examples.
Kapp said plans for the league began in December 1993, when CBS lost its battle to retain television rights to NFL games to Fox Sports. ``That was an opportunity,'' he said. ``We put together a plan, a new concept of how to run a league.''
All-Star Football does not plan on holding a player draft.
``We'll get our players from the same place they get their players,'' Kapp said. ``So many players never get a chance. I was fifth in the Heisman [Trophy] balloting and nobody called, so I went to Canada. I coached at California from 1982-1986. We had three quarterbacks who could play pro football. One of them, Gale Gilbert, still is in the league. The other two never got on the field.''
The league plans to form its own television network of local stations that have not had an opportunity to carry NFL games.
``A lot of planning has been done,'' Kapp said. ``We spent a long time consulting with experts and specialists. We visited cities all over the country last year and found a welcome audience. The stadiums are there. The components are in place. There's no reason to wait.''
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB