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Starting next March Salina residents will have a new team to root for. The city's first indoor football team will be part of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The team will be owned my Indoor Game Production, Inc.
"Salina is a football town," Jake Sharp PR director of Indoor Game Production, Inc. "That little boy, that little girl that's been wanting to watch football in the spring when there's no Central or South games. We're going to offer them that opportunity.
Sharp knows about football in Salina. He's a Salina Central graduate who also played for KU. Now, instead of putting on a jersey and cleats before each game--he'll suit up in a jacket and dress shoes as part of the ownership team.
" Once it's in your blood, it's in your blood," Sharp said. I enjoy the game of football."
The ownership says fans should expect to see plenty of talent on the team.
"We have touched base with a couple KU and K-State players, as well as some other division one colleges," Chris Vercher, President and CEO of Indoor Game Productions, Inc.
The owners say they are still deciding on who they want to coach those players, but the individuals they are lookingat have high school and college experience.
"As long as you have the right players and you play the game right and you're coached well you'll beat the talented teams," Vercher said.
The league has eight teams-- the Bloomington Edge, The Kansas City Renegades, Kansas (Topeka) Koyotes, the Lincoln Haymakers, the Sedalia Outlaws, the Tulsa Defenders, the Sioux City Bandits and the Wichita Wild.
"Wichita is right down the road," Vercher said. "It's going to be an instant rivalry.
The owners have decided to let the city of Salina be part of their creative team. Residents can submit their pick for a team name to bicentennialcenter.com. On October 25, three names will be chosen and sports fans can vote for their favorite of the trio.