Indiana Firebirds.

• Author: Cole, Stacy
• Position: Arena football team achieves success at Conseco Fieldhouse - Brief Article

For those who want pro football without the high price--and tailgate parties without the sweaters or winter parkas--the Arena Football League offers an alternative. Launched in 1990, arena football moved into Indianapolis last summer when the Indiana Firebirds signed on at Conseco Fieldhouse. The team's second Indiana season begins this month.

Arena football is a different game from the National Football League. Besides being played in the summer, the game is played on an indoor padded surface only 50 yards long and 85 feet wide. The field features goal-side rebound nets, eight feet off the ground. The net can be used to rebound missed field goals or forward passes. The smaller field and somewhat modified rules have made for a more fast-paced game.

"The league is growing rapidly and ownership is changing," says Joe Hennessy, general manager of the Firebirds. "In order to remain competitive we needed a bigger market to help us with sponsorship."

The Firebirds already have gotten some of what they sought when they moved to Indianapolis from Albany, New York. In the first season alone, the "fan base went up at least a thousand per game," Hennessy says, to an average of about 11,000 fans per game last season.

The Firebirds have also been able to charge more for tickets in Indianapolis. In Albany, the most expensive ticket offered was $32--here it is $99 for sideline seats.

Ticket prices on average are still much lower than for other professional sporting events.

"We do offer an opportunity--especially in difficult financial times--for families who normally can't afford to go see a major sporting event to see one," according to Justin Campbell, director of communications.

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