KENNER ST R JULY 2014 19 Sports In Operation over 18 years 0912_Century_Title_Gray.pdf 1 8/24/12 8:02 PM The bloom is off the rose. Will the rose shrivel and die or would a healthy dose of fresh water make a difference? Once a significant player in the New Orleans entertainment lineup, the New Orleans VooDoo have become a virtual afterthought to fans, who have largely disappeared from the stands at Smoothie King Center in 2014. New Orleans first ventured into the Arena Football League in 1991 with the New Orleans Night. It was a huge challenge from the start. Lacking star power and overall talent, New Orleans was competitive but went 4-6 in 1991 under head coach Eddie Khayat, who departed to return to the outdoor game (NFL), his comfort zone, following one season. My dear friend, the late Vince Gibson, was convinced to take over for the 1992 season. A lack of talent, experience in the indoor game and overall help in securing players doomed Gibson from the start. He was a fish out water in the midst of a disastrous 0-10 season. The losing played a large part in the end of the franchise. So did the lack of a facility. Arena Football succeeds because it is an intimate game played in arenas where fans are right on top of the action, part of the action. Lacking an arena to play in, the Night had to play in the Louisiana Superdome, a more expensive proposition in a more expansive atmosphere. It did not work. While the Arena League marched on, New Orleans moved on. In 1993, the Zephyrs arrived, bringing minor league baseball back to the area for the first time since 1977. In 2002, the New Orleans Hornets arrived, bringing NBA basketball back to the market for the first time since the Jazz departed for Salt Lake City in 1979. Now the Pelicans, the franchise is solvent under the new ownership of Tom Benson and the New Orleans Saints. Professional soccer arrived in the form of the Riverboat Gamblers in 1993, followed by the Gamblers, Storm, ShellShockers, Shockers and Jesters (current). Hockey arrived in the form of the New Orleans Brass in 1997 though the franchise folded in 2002. Arena Football returned to New Orleans in the one form that would certainly bring success, under the wing of the Saints and Benson, who had facilities, added to facilities and had the infrastructure in place to fully staff the franchise, market it and give it a competitive chance, if not an advantage. In 2004, the team averaged 15,240 in its first season, fifth in the AFL. On the field, the VooDoo won the Southern Division and made the playoffs with an 11-5 record under Mike Neu. In 2005, the VooDoo averaged 15,338, third best in the league as the team narrowly missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record. After the team suspended operations in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, the VooDoo returned as a virtual expansion team, starting over, in 2007. The fans responded to the tune of a league-leading 16,645 per game, leading the AFL though the new squad went just 5-11 on the field. In 2008, the team averaged 14,321 and went 8-8. Following the 2008 season, the league suspended operations due to a bad financial model and the preponderance of NFL owners pulling out of the league, including Tom Benson and the Saints. While the league returned after a one year hiatus, the VooDoo returned after a two-year hiatus as the Bossier/Shreveport Battle Wings relocated to New Orleans and reclaimed the VooDoo brand. While the brand was wildly popular and universally accepted, the struggle to succeed would prove daunting. In 2011, the team was awful, going 3-15 while averaging 8,153 fans per game under Derek Stingley. 2012 was better. While the team finished 8-11 overall, they made the playoffs under first-year coach Pat O’Hara but averaged just 6,113 fans per contest. The decline continued in 2013 as the team went just 5-13 and averaged an all-time low of 4,969 fans per game. By the end of June in 2014, the VooDoo were 2-12 on the field and were averaging 5,470 fans per game though there were far fewer than that actually in the stands on game nights. The average attendance places the VooDoo last in the league. O’Hara is a solid Arena Football man. He was a championship quarterback in the league and clearly understands the intricacies of the game as a head coach. It is all about players. O’Hara has had a nightmarish season. He has lost his top three quarterbacks (Kurt Rocco, Ryan Perrilloux, B.J. Hall) to injuries, lost top receiver L.J. Castile in a trade to Los Angeles, and played without other top receivers Chase Deadder and Quorey Payne for much of the season due to injuries. He has lost his entire offensive line to either injuries or defections to the Canadian Football League at one point or another. New Orleans has employed three kickers, three holders and three deep snappers. I have enjoyed a front row view of Arena Football in New Orleans, blessed to have served as the play-by-play voice of the Night and the most recent version of the VooDoo. I was fortunate to host a television coaches’ show with Neu in 2004 as well. Both the Night and VooDoo have treated me very well for which I am extremely appreciative. I can certainly argue that no one wants to see the AFL succeed in New Orleans more than me. Through television shows on WHNO-TV, print publicity at SportsNOLA and radio shows on WGSO, 990 AM and WRNO, 99.5 FM, we have consistently exposed and promoted the product. Arena Football remains an entertaining product. With the infusion of rock and rollers KISS (LA KISS) and Vince Neil (Las Vegas expansion franchise) of Motley Crue, along with television deals with ESPN and CBS Sports, the league still has a shelf life. What will it take to guarantee New Orleans a shelf life in the AFL? The team is owned by interests from the Shreveport area and Texas under Dan Newman and Doug Harrington. Would a local investor be helpful? There is no doubt that it would help but getting folks to the table is an issue when your product fails to succeed. Would a more VooDoo fight for survival By Ken Trahan aggressive marketing campaign, ensuring an increased local presence in the market help? Would better training facilities attract better players? The franchises that succeed in the AFL have all of the above. Arizona is the dominant force in the league. It has solid local ownership and good facilities. The same is true of San Jose, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Spokane, Jacksonville, Iowa and Los Angeles. Additionally, it is no secret that some franchises succeed as well by providing “incentives” to players, getting them additional revenue through other resources, regardless of what league rules say about a strict per-game pay policy. When the league suspended operations in 2008, the average player salary was $1,800 per player with some making substantially more. It was a competitive marketplace to obtain talent. The current AFL, according to various reports, pays players far less, as little as $400 per game, though quarterbacks make an extra $300 per game. While the newer financial model works for owners, it makes it tough, make that very tough, to attract talented players and retain them. It has become a nomadic league on many fronts. Ideally, the way to attract and keep players is to sign players with local roots, who live in the market or live close by, who do not require housing and food, who have outside jobs and family already here. A perfect example of this would be former West Jefferson and LSU star Marlon Favorite, a solid third-year player for the VooDoo. The league is struggling on many fronts, with the league having taken over ownership of franchises in Orlando and San Antonio. Clearly, the question of some franchises surviving is legitimate moving forward. Does that include New Orleans? The best marketing tool is winning. When you do not win in a competitive marketplace, it is tough. When you are part of a league which has seen a consistent decline in attendance, it makes things even tougher. If the VooDoo are to survive and thrive, a dose of winning is virtually essential and soon. Here’s hoping it happens for Newman, Harrington and whoever is involved in operating the franchise moving forward. Ken Trahan serves as sports direc - tor of WGSO 990 AM/ WGSO and is president and general manager of SportsNola . Trahan is the also the gen - eral manager and chairman of the board of the Saints Hall of Fame Museum in the Louisiana Superdome, and runs the Life Resources Sports Ministry.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 00:31:59 +0000