MLN Sports Zone - Minor League Sports Magazine

Kats Ankle to Turner Town, but AFL Stays in Nashville
The Kats depart for Atlanta, but (with a new stadium) the AFL may have a remedy for their cheatin' heart...

NEW YORK - 09/21/01 - In an swap that is part of stadium upgrade Monopoly game, the Arena Football League's Board of Directors announced that the Nashville Kats will be shipped off to Atlanta for the 2002 season and beyond.

Before outraged Arena Football fans in Nashville get their picket signs out, the AFL also announced that NFL Titans owner K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. would be awarded an expansion franchise in... you guessed it... Nashville. Why didn't the Atlanta ownership get the expansion franchise? Sane, logical houghts like that, bucko, are going to keep you out of league management.

The bottom line is the stadium financing cha-cha. Out go the Kats. If Nashville wants Mr. Adams' business, they're going to have to pony up a "suitable" venue for the new arena football franchise. The same leverage does not exist in Turner Town, where rumors still abound that the NFL plays there.

Atlanta businessman Virgil R. Williams, who is chairman and CEO of Williams Group International, Inc., and a member of the Board of Directors of Bank of America, will take on the role as team chairman for the Atlanta-bound Kats.

He is partnered with James J. Thomas II and his firm of Long, Aldridge and Norman, LLP a law firm with some background in sports.

The Kats' current owner, Mark Bloom, will retain a percentage of ownership along with
partners J.R. Scott, Al Ross, Larry Papel, and G.M.R. Investments.

AFL Commissioner Baker also announced that K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr., owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, has been approved for an expansion team for Nashville.

The Kats plan to begin regular season play in April 2002 at Philips Arena (capacity: 18,653), which will assist in the sales and marketing of the team. Arena tenants also include the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.

"We are thrilled that Atlanta will be the next city on a growing list to be a part of the nation's true growth sport," said Mr. Williams, the new Chairman of the team. "I think Atlantans will flock to see this high-energy game of football."

"Atlanta represents a continuing migration of the Arena Football League into major markets, and Mr. Adams' commitment also ensures that year-round football will thrive
for many years in the city of Nashville." AFL Commissioner Baker said.

"We believe the Arena Football League team will be a great complement to
our Titans organization," said Mr. Adams. "We want to play as quickly as possible, once a satisfactory venue is secured." The Kats had competed in the Gaylord Entertainment Center since 1997.

"It is an honor to have one of the founders of the original AFL as a member of the Arena Football League," Commissioner Baker said of Mr. Adams. "He has done so much for the game of football and now he is contributing his leadership to the Arena Football League."

Mr. Adams' ownership is a continuation of the trend to award franchises to NFL owners, or ownership with strong major league ties. On Feb. 8, 1999, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that the NFL agreed to purchase an exclusive option to acquire an equity interest of 49.9 percent in the AFL, subject to the approval of NFL owners.

Adams becomes the eighth NFL owner to be approved for an AFL team. Most recently, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and John Elway were approved for a team in Denver. The Cowboys' Jerry Jones, Broncos' Pat Bowlen, Lions' William Ford Jr., Jaguars' Wayne Weaver, Saints' Tom Benson, the York family of the 49ers', and the Redskins' Daniel Snyder also own franchises.

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