AFL seeking cities to host ArenaBowl 2009

By ED BARKOWITZ
Philadelphia Daily News

barkowe@phillynews.com
Philadelphia remains in the hunt to host the 2009 Arena Football League championship.

But it is not alone.

Commissioner David Baker said yesterday that a decision has not been made yet on which city will host next year's ArenaBowl. The league has opened the window with "requests for proposals" and now is waiting to hear from interested locations.

Baker said that in addition to Philadelphia, representatives from Kansas City, Orlando, Chicago and even Hawaii have shown interest in hosting the championship game.

"We have had some interest from some cities that don't have Arena Football teams, specifically Hawaii and maybe even a game abroad for the ArenaBowl," Baker said. "We will work our way through that."

Soul general manager Rich Lisk said the team hopes to bring an ArenaBowl to the Wachovia Center, but first things first. The Soul plays San Jose for the AFL title on July 27 in New Orleans.

"We've been talking, but right now it's on hold," Lisk said. "We'll certainly revisit this right after the ArenaBowl. There are a lot of things in the mix."

Lisk also said the Soul continues to pursue the possibility of playing an outdoor game, possibly at Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park. With the demolition of the Wachovia Spectrum slated for the middle of next season, the Soul could use another option.

"We actually had one proposal from Hawaii to have a game there at Aloha Stadium that we're going to review," Baker said, speaking in general. "I think that's a definite possibility. Whether that happens in a stadium outside laterally with some temporary seating or whether it happens in a place like the Georgia Dome or the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium. But I think that's definitely in our future."

* On replay: If the NFL has the Immaculate Reception, call the disputed Larry Brackins touchdown the South Philly Stretch.

Brackins' last-second touchdown in the Divisional Playoff win caused a lot of anxiety in the AFL world. To quickly recap, New York fans feel Brackins' knee was down. The zebras ruled that the Soul wide receiver stretched the ball over the goal line for the decisive touchdown.

"I looked at the replay a million times like everybody else," Baker said. "I don't think there was indisputable evidence that could overturn the call on the field. And, by the way, if it would have been called short, I don't think there was indisputable evidence to overturn that call either."

The big problem, Baker pointed out, was that there was no goal-line angle of the play. That angle will be available for the ArenaBowl championship.

"[Replays] have made the game more exciting because of the opportunity to correct [calls]. The good news is that people were talking about that play the next day."

* On expansion: Baker is hoping to add to his 17-team league, but not until 2010. Pittsburgh, South Florida, Boston and Louisville were among the interested locales.

* On his new favorite NFL team: "I can say that I am officially a Falcons season ticketholder," Baker said. "Yeah, I'll be down there a little bit."

Baker's son, Sam, an offensive tackle out of USC, was one of Atlanta's two first-round picks in the most recent draft. Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, from Penn Charter, was the other.

Soul notes

Quarterback Matt D'Orazio was named the AFL offensive player of the week after throwing eight touchdown passes in the conference championship win over Cleveland . . . D'Orazio is a very strong candidate for the league's quarterback of the year award to be announced today. D'Orazio was first-team all-AFL and is a finalist along with Utah's Joe Germaine, Georgia's Chris Greisen, Chicago's Russ Michna and Cleveland's Raymond Philyaw. *