The Official Announcement Is Here - 1957 Expansion

The Official Announcement Is Here - 1957 Expansion
Ryan Jameson held one final press conference to finally announce the winning bids for the two brand new NAAF franchises. The league started this journey last offseason announcing the two expansion spots available. They received loads of bids from cities all over the Northeast and a few in the Midwest. Eventually cut down to 8 cities, which were then cut down to the final 5. Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Portland, ME, Quebec City, QC, and Rochester, NY.  

Jameson started his speech with an apology for the delay. “There were some challenges that had to be managed. We don’t want to rush into any decision, or situation without having trust and confidence in the city and the ownership that are behind these new teams. With that being said, let's get to what you have all been waiting patiently for.  

Throughout the discussions over the past year, the NAAF has heavily deliberated over the direction the league wants to go. Do we stick to our territory or do we try to extend our boundaries into new areas? Do we give cities waiting for an opportunity around us or do we take our chances with untapped potential? Or do we try to do a bit of both? After the countless hours and endless meetings that we had, we have finally decided on two cities that will be a part of the future of the NAAF. 

For our first new franchise, I am excited to say that we will be extending our reach. We are ready to enter a new state and a new region. A city that has been left without a chance to watch some football. Welcome to the NAAF, Indianapolis, Indiana. With the leadership of Sammy Kirkdale, the city of Indianapolis had the strongest bid from the start of the process. An expanding city, without much competition, and a hunger for football that could not be ignored any longer, it became an easy decision for us. Congrats, Sammy Kirkdale on being an owner of a NAAF squad. 

Now on to our second team. 4 more cities gave it their best, but challenges were met and the decision for the second team was delayed. Portland, we found it to be too small, and a bigger building was not possible in the city. Quebec City had big concerns over the amateur league in the province that heavily relies on the city and what a NAAF team could do. Cincinnati was unable to secure stadium rights with the GLFL helping the Cincinnati team keep their foothold on the area, and Rochester was not giving us much to work with in terms of building into the future.  

Quebec City and Rochester were the two in the mix, but Vince Forsyth, from the Cincinnati bid, came through with a revised bid and plan that we could not refuse. Moving his bid from Cincinnati to just down the road to a smaller market, but another untapped one. It only took a couple of extra weeks of discussions, but by the end, we awarded Vince with our second franchise which he is excited to take to Louisville, Kentucky. Welcome to the NAAF, Louisville.”

Jameson would continue to go more into detail on the plans moving forward. Indianapolis would be moving into a new stadium downtown that will hold 48,500 people which is almost 1,000 more than initially expected. However, with the delays with Louisville, the team will play the first season at the University of Louisville before moving into a new stadium which the city is making their final plans for.  The structure will also be changing next season with the North and New England Divisions changing to the West and the East. The West includes Buffalo, Indianapolis, Louisville, Ontario, and Long Island, and the East with Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Providence, and Worcester. The playoffs will also be expanding to 6 teams and the season will extend to 12 games from 10. These changes will be refreshed before next season as well as other details.  

Now the last thing:
The team’s names…I would love to take in your suggestions for the cities, again I will have the final decision but I want to hear from others. So here is a simple form that will allow you to submit names and give some reasoning behind the name if you have that. I won't be making decisions or revealing either brand until the next offseason.

LEAVE YOUR IDEAS HERE