The Arena Football League has made it official and approved starting a new franchise in Atlantic City.
The team will play in the city’s Boardwalk Hall Arena. A fan contest to help name the team is scheduled.
The city has had poor luck before with minor league sports franchises, but this marks the first time a team in a major league of a sport will call the resort home. Arena league officials have said the start of sports betting in Atlantic City was a major reason for locating the franchise there.
“Atlantic City is a great market for the Arena Football League,” said Randall Boe, the league’s commissioner in a press release. “The AFL is focused on fan engagement and the integration of sports betting, fantasy and fan involvement with our games. Atlantic City is a perfect fit with that strategy and will be a great city for the Arena Football League.”
The deal is subject to the completion of a contract between the league and the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which controls Boardwalk Hall. The authority has approved starting negotiations.
The team’s operating management group, Trifecta Sports & Entertainment, includes former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, former Eagles and St. Louis Rams coach Dick Vermeil, former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston and former Saints and Green Bay Packers guard Jahri Evans, according to the Associated Press. The group also owns Arena League franchises in Philadelphia and Albany.
