1972 NAAF League Meetings

In the last three seasons, the NAAF has gone through a massive change from 12 teams up to 18. The last two focused on the NAAF’s merger with the Western Football Union adding the 5 Western Canadian teams as a consequence of the failed attempt to bring a team to Kansas City, MO. The massive change in plans has left a giant question mark surrounding the new direction of the potential KC team.

THE STATUS OF KANSAS CITY
Jacob Cross, the man who was incharge of the Kansas City Expansion bid came to speak about the current state of the expansion bid and stadium project. A little recap, back in 1968, Kansas City was selected alongside Minneapolis as expansion city for the NAAF. Jacob Cross led the bid for Kansas City along with a partnership with a local agriculture business, Powell Mills. The stadium that Powell Mills was helping Cross and the city fund, was being built during the summer of 1968. Unfortunately, a major drought would strike the central US. The combination of the bad year and paying for the stadium, Powell Mills could not continue to commit funds to the project and eventually had to pull out to try and stay alive as a company. Cross and the city attempted to continue construction, but there just was no way with how ambitious the project had been. The stadium had to stop construction at about 50%, which would ultimately delay the team in Kansas City. In 1969, the Minnesota Serpents would join the league alone. 

Over the next year, Jacob Cross attempted to find another partner to help complete the stadium. He failed to garner any interest as many businesses were scared of making the attempt, especially after Powell Mills failed to recover from their issues and would eventually be bought by a much larger agriculture business in Great West Agriculture. After the purchase, Cross did approach the larger company with his situation, however, the Chicago-based company that already had ties to the GLFL’s Chicago All-Pros was not interested. There was rejection after rejection for Cross over the next few seasons, which wasn’t helped by the NAAF’s full merger with the WFU last season, as any interested investors now raised the question of where KC fits if the NAAF has 18 teams now. 

The entire process has been very frustrating for Cross. He has started to feel stuck and is on the brink of dropping the bid altogether. However, the NAAF turned and said they are going to start shifting their focus back to a Kansas City expansion team, as well as another expansion partner to join them. The league has met with a few prospective owners in their old stomping grounds as well as in the West, so there is certainly a chance the league will have a new team to pair up with a KC squad. With that news, Cross is hoping that if the NAAF can nail down an expansion partner for Kansas City, investors will be more willing to buy into the team and get them one step closer to getting onto the field. 

BENJAMIN HARRIS STEPS AWAY FROM FOOTBALL OPERATIONS IN BOSTON
Before any further discussion on the league’s future plans, Boston Independents’ owner Benjamin Harris made an announcement. The 73-year-old owner announced that he would officially be stepping away from football and league operations following the conclusion of the 1972 NAAF meetings. Benjamin Harris officially took over the team in 1954. He had been slowly beginning to take over operations from his father, Glen Harris, in the years leading up to the official change of ownership. Since taking over, Benjamin has led Boston through some difficult years in the mid-1950s and the late 1960s but has also led them through some great years in 1954, and in the early 1960s, including a championship in 1961. Within the NAAF, Harris has been a great leader amongst the ownership group, often being one to offer a helping hand to other teams in the league. His strongest relationship has been with Elliot Hudson and the Halifax Mariners, helping them with the move to Halifax. Harris also had a very important part in the Atlantic Coast Football League’s failed expansion into Boston. The Boston Shamrocks had been allowed to play at Richardson Stadium when they moved into town. While the deal was a risk to the NAAF initially, Harris had faith it would work in their favour. The Shamrocks had to pay a hefty price to the Independents to play there and they had no staying power competing with the much more popular Independents. In the end, the Shamrocks would eventually be merged into the Pittsburgh Hammers once Don Soriano took over for Stephen Van Fossen as the Commissioner of the ACFL. The plan had gone perfectly in Harris’ eyes as he not only proved his team owned the market but also took home extra revenue, some of which was passed along to Halifax and the NAAF when needed, notably in the development of Midgard Stadium in Minneapolis.

Harris is expected to remain the team’s owner in the immediate future, the look for new ownership will be his primary goal over the next while. In the meantime, Robert Albertson will take on football operation duties. Albertson has been within the organization as an assistant to Harris for about half a decade now. There is clearly plenty of faith in Albertson’s ability to manage the organization. 

STATUS OF THE FORMER WESTERN FOOTBALL UNION TEAMS
Following Harris’ announcement, the league would take a look at the former Western Football Union teams and how they had fared so far in the transition into the NAAF. Over the first two seasons of being included in the NAAF, the WFU teams have gone through some significant changes. Not only in the new set of rules but also in the costs for the teams. Further travel and higher players' salary regulations have both played a factor in raising the cost for the teams. Now, they have been able to counter those rising costs with more revenue through TV, advertisements, ticket sales, and some revenue-sharing help. In the 1970 season, the Vancouver Wolves were able to keep up with most of the NAAF with a trip to the McCallister Cup. Edmonton and Calgary fared well and made a good amount amongst the rising cost and a miserable 1-11 season in Calgary. Winnipeg teetered on breaking even, while Regina, to not a lot of surprise, lost a decent amount. 

In 1971, there were significant improvements across the teams. Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg all had much stronger showings, Vancouver did take a little bit of a dip from last year, which was expected when the team didn’t make the trip back to the McCallister Cup, and Regina improved but was still a decent way back from the rest. Regina’s situation was becoming a concern. The team is obviously in the smallest market in the league with Regina having about half the population of the next smallest market in Halifax. They also have the smallest stadium, only seating 19,000. While the stadium size isn’t the biggest concern as Winnipeg, the next smallest (23,520), is managing just fine. However, the bigger problem is with how many fans actually attend the game. Despite having the smallest stadium, Regina has the lowest attendance percentage in the league, sitting at 77% for tickets sold and about 74% for actual attendees. While they have been helped by a couple of strong games, like a sellout against Winnipeg and a solid 83% sale against Calgary, most of the games are trending closer to 70% in sales. Luckily, the team does have a very wealthy owner in Bill Kingsley, who owns King’s Crops, a very successful agribusiness in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba. 

Kingsley, who did show up a day late to the meetings, came forward to address the situation. In his statement, he explained how he was having a tough time keeping up with the team, especially during his busiest season for his other business in the summer. In order to keep the Wheat Kings afloat, he would need to make sure he maintains his primary business. Of course, that means devoting more time and effort to King’s Crops than the Wheat Kings. The league understood the concerns put forward by Kingsley, so they agreed to help. The rest of the owners began to put together a plan to try and help the Wheat Kings into the future, and take some of the load off of Kingsley’s shoulders. 

CITY OF PITTSBURGH WILL NEGOTIATE WITH BOTH FOOTBALL TEAMS OVER STADIUM LEASE, POTENTIALLY ENDING THE HAMMERS’ HOLD ON THE STADIUM
William Braddock and the Pittsburgh Blacksmiths are prepared to go to the negotiation table with the City of Pittsburgh. After the 1971 ACFL season concludes, the Pittsburgh Hammers’ lease is up at Riverfront Stadium of Pittsburgh. Along with the end of the lease, the Blacksmiths’ deal with the Hammers will also be lifted finally allowing the NAAF franchise to freely negotiate with the city over either their own lease with the stadium or for a new stadium. When the Blacksmiths became a team in 1965, their only available stadium was Riverfront Stadium. The deal they had signed with The Hammers had some similar features to the one signed between the Independents and the Shamrocks. Ultimately, the Blacksmiths were locked into the deal as long as they wanted to remain in Pittsburgh and would not be able to build a new stadium without their approval while also having to pay them to use the stadium. Also, due to the deal, the NAAF has so far avoided having events in the city like the McCallister Cup. If the lease ever ended for the Hammers, the deal would end until either a new one is negotiated or the Blacksmiths take over. 

Over the past year, the Hammers reportedly have already been negotiating for an extension of the lease. The ACFL has been heavily involved in the negotiations to attempt to maintain control of the city. So far they have been unsuccessful. Due to the recent success of the Blacksmiths that have seen the highest attendance numbers in the city in a while, it is expected that the Blacksmiths will at least have the chance to make their pitch to the city. However, no deal can be negotiated until the lease is officially lifted in January. More to come at a later date.

TL;DR
- Jacob Cross, head of KC expansion bid, has not found new investors to continue the stadium project; holding onto hope that if the NAAF can find a new expansion partner, investors will be more willing to help
Boston owner, Benjamin Harris is stepping away from football operations and is beginning the process of transferring ownership
- The former WFU teams have all had success, except Regina, which had begun to slip behind; Owner Bill Kingsley has asked for help managing the team while he manages his primary business and the NAAF is developing a plan to assist
- The City of Pittsburgh will negotiate with the Pittsburgh Blacksmiths and Pittsburgh Hammers over a stadium lease following the conclusion of the ACFL season. 

1972 NAAF League Meetings Wrap-Up

NAAF EXPANDS VANCOUVER WOLVES’ ROOTS IN JAPAN
Before joining the NAAF, the Vancouver Wolves had made some connections across the Pacific in Japan. Football has been a growing sport in the island nation for many years. Plenty of schools in the country were now playing a version of North American Football. Many take rules from the American game, some even tying in Canadian rules with Vancouver’s influence. However, with the NAAF’s assistance, the country was ready to move forward with a professional league that would combine the rules and play a hybrid game, similar to that of the NAAF. The new league will kick off its first season in 1972, containing 6 teams to start. If the league does well, it is likely that schools will switch over to the hybrid rules to help grow the game and grow talent in the country to play in the pro league.

Additionally, the NAAF is also working on a pipeline to allow for more scouting in the country and potential opportunities for Japanese players to make the jump up to the top league in North America. It is likely this pipeline will assist players with the transition cost-wise of moving over to North America if teams in the NAAF sign them. The agreement is a special one showing that the NAAF is not going to be limited by the borders of their home continent.

NAAF TO APPOINT NEW HEAD OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS IN REGINA
The NAAF’s plan to help Wheat Kings’ owner, Bill Kingsley, is to appoint someone to be in charge of football operations in Regina, handling the team, marketing, and any other operations at play. Since Kingsley asked for help on this, the NAAF is going to be the one taking the lead on the search for a candidate for the position. Kingsley will be informed of any decisions made and can help in choosing who will take up the position, but he can also allow the NAAF to make the final decision on who is hired. The hiring process will begin ASAP and an announcement of an appointment will be made once a decision has been made.