AFL's Force comes back to Gwinnett

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When the Georgia Force and the Arena Football League went under in 2009, Gwinnett Arena official Preston Williams held on to the trademark end zone netting.

"I figured they'd be back," said Williams, the managing director of the Gwinnett County Visitors Bureau.

Williams has proven prescient. Under new ownership, the league has returned and will field a new Force team at Duluth's Gwinnett Arena, the team announced Monday. The team is moving from Huntsville, where it was the formerly Alabama Vipers, and will begin play in April 2011.

"Coming to the Atlanta area and especially the Gwinnett Center was always our first choice," team president Ron Evans said.

The old Force played from 2002 to 2008, four seasons at Philips Arena and three in Duluth. The team was the property of Falcons owner Arthur Blank for the final four seasons. However, the league suspended operations going into the 2009 season. In December 2009, a new ownership group purchased AFL property, including team names and logos, out of bankruptcy court. The new 15-team league finished its first season last Friday.

The team is owned by Donn Jennings of Huntsville and Doug MacGregor of Gunnison, Colo. Coach Dean Cokinos led the Vipers to a championship of the original AFL's "second-tier" league in 2008. They were 7-9 this season.

Evans said the team looked into leaving Huntsville soon after it received a franchise in the new league.

"We realized we were going in as the smallest market and smallest building in the league," he said.

The new league is operating under a different business model that has lower costs than the original version. The team will have to average around 7,000-8,000 fans to turn a profit, Evans said. When the Force played in Gwinnett, they averaged between 6,500 and 7,000 fans, Williams said. Gwinnett Arena seats 11,200 in its football configuration.

Tickets will start at $10. Season ticket packages for the eight-game home season (plus a playoff game) will begin at $49 for old Force season ticket holders.

Among those attending thenews conference announcing the move were die-hard Force fans Tim and Lynda Berninger. Tim, wearing a Force jersey, re-arranged his work schedule in order to be there after the 50-minute drive from their Cleveland home.

Said Tim, "April can't come soon enough."