The Professional Spring Football League will officially declare itself open for business Tuesday afternoon via telephone press conference.
A league spokesman said Friday that Salt Lake City will be a franchise site. "It's definite," says publicist John Krisiukenas, who says a group of owners for the Salt Lake team will be announced during the press conference."There are a number of backers, not one specific owner," says Krisiukenas, adding, "Everything will be known Tuesday."
The new league expects to have franchises in 10 cities, although the 10th won't be announced until Tuesday. The West division will comprise Salt Lake City, Portland, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Little Rock, Ark.; and the East will be made up of Boston, Columbia, S.C.; Tampa Bay, Miami and the yet-unnamed city.
A 16-game schedule begins play Feb. 29, 1992, and runs through June followed by playoffs and a championship game, America's Red, White and Blue Bowl, on the July 4 weekend.
Teams will have 45 players, many from PSFL team locales, and salaries should average about $45,000, says a league news release. Franchise fees are $250,000. To break even in the first year, the league says attendance must exceed two million at the 95 games - 20,000 per game at an average ticket cost of $15.
The PSFL expects the Salt Lake City team, as yet unnamed, to play in University of Utah's Rice Stadium, but U. associate athletic director Ned Alger says no contract has been signed, although he did send the PSFL a "signed proposal of approximate costs for game management. It's not a contract; all the things are not in hard letters," Alger says. "We don't know if it's agreeable with them or if it's agreeable with us."
Krisiukenas says the PSFL is not in competition with the National Football League, nor is it a farm system for the NFL. "It's football for the fans," he says, noting that some 700 players have NFL contracts and "a lot more than that have the ability to play. People want to see their hometown heroes play."
That is one reason Salt Lake City was chosen to receive a franchise. Utah has five NCAA college football programs that could contribute to the roster of a Salt Lake City team.
One of the players mentioned by Krisiukenas as likely being on the Salt Lake roster is last season's All-America tight end at BYU, Chris Smith. Smith was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League but was cut before the start of the NFL season.