Business & Tech
More than 3,000 Fans Expected for First Steelhawks Arena Football Game Saturday
GM says, "We're not selling football, we selling entertainment."
Fans are being urged to wear all black for the new Lehigh Valley Steelhawks’ first home game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena. More than 3,000 tickets have been sold for the game.
But the newcomers to the Indoor Football League might do better to ask for a maroon or gold rather than a black attack against the Richmond Revolution.
Maroon and gold are the school colors of Kutztown University, from where the Steelhawks’ first star has emerged.
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
After the Steelhawks first victory ever on March 5 at Richmond, defensive tackle Chris Medina from Kutztown University became the first Lehigh Valley player to win a weekly award from the Indoor Football League. He was named special teams player of the week.
“He’s a talented player,” Mike Clark, executive vice president of the Steelhawks, told Patch an interview this week. “But I’m afraid I don’t know how long he’ll be with us…and that’s not a problem.”
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
Clark intimated Medina might be picked up at a higher level of football team (possibly the NFL), and added that wouldn’t be a bad thing for the start-up team.
In the historic victory against the defending Atlantic Division champion Richmond Revolution, Medina blocked two extra points and a field goal attempt to give the Steelhawks a chance to pull out a last-second 41-38 win.
Three blocked kicks in a single game is a league high for the season. He also recorded five tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
The Steelhawks evened their 2011 seasonal record to 1-1 after an opening 33-26 loss at the Reading Express on Feb. 26.
Saturday will be a rematch with Richmond and the home opener at Stabler Arena, where other indoor football teams have faltered financially in the past.
“We’re a different team with a different ownership and a different league,” said Clark. “We’re not selling football, we selling entertainment.”
Clark was previously director of communications for the Indoor Football League and on the staff of the former Philadelphia Phantoms minor league ice hockey team.
His father, Glenn Clark, an insurance company owner from Wilmington, Del., is the money behind the team. He serves as owner and president.
Season and group ticket packages, starting at $8 per game, are still available. Call the team’s front office at 610-282-3100.
Individual tickets are also on sale via the Steelhawks website (www.lvsteelhawks.com), thru ticketmaster, or by visiting the Stabler Arena Box Office at 124 Goodman in Bethlehem.
FAST FACTS
The name: Lehigh Valley fans voted for “Steelhawks.’
The rules: They are designed to allow for play in a basketball or ice hockey area. Instead of cramming a full team of eleven players onto this reduced-size field, they go with eight men.
Punting is banned, and replaced by field goals. Rebound nets are used around the ends of the playing surfaced. Kicked and passed balls bouncing off these nets are still in play.
All this makes for high-scoring games.
The head coach: Richard Britt, formerly of the Sioux City United of the former United Indoor Football Association.
The local roster:
Chad Clark, 62, defensive line, Moravian
Matt Cohen, 22, linebacker, Lehigh
Joe DeLuse, 7, quarterback, East Stroudsburg
Chris Medina, 52, line, Kutztown
The schedule:
2/26 at Reading (L)
3/5 at Richmond (W)
3/19 Richmond home
4/1 at Reading
4/9 Bloomington home
4/16 Chicago home
4/23 Reading home
4/30 at LaCrosse
5/8 Reading home
5/14 at Richmond
5/21 Fairbanks home
5/28 Richmond home
6/4 at Green Bay
6/11 at LaCrosse.