Fort Collins, Colo. – New plans to merge the United Indoor Football League (UIF) and the Intense Football League (IFL), announced by league officials last week, will bring more teams to the Budweiser Events Center come late February when the Colorado Ice professional indoor football team begins their third season. “This merger creates a lot of excitement for the organizations and fans of indoor football and we are excited about the opportunity to be able to play more teams,” stated Ice head coach Collins Sanders.
Talks about a possible merger have been going on for several months and owner John Cunningham has been involved from the beginning. “This is a positive move for indoor football; all the teams joining are financially sound and competitive talent-wise which will give the new league strength and stability to secure its longevity,” Cunningham said. The merger is a result of many teams from other leagues petitioning to join the UIF because it is seen as the premier indoor football league in North America with the best business model and most talented players.
This season, the Ice posted big victories at home over the top teams in the league and are preparing to take on new competition in 2009. “Our team is very competitive, beating top teams in the UIF in 2008. We can’t wait to see how we stack up against new teams in the league,” declared Cunningham.
All nine teams that played in the IFL in 2009 will join the new league. Host cities include: Belton, Corpus Christi, Odessa, Katy, Plano and San Angelo, Texas, Lake Charles, Louisiana and Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. UIF teams are located in: Billings, Montana, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Omaha, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa, Bloomington, Illinois, St. Charles, Missouri, Wichita, Kansas and Fort Collins, Colorado.
The 2009 season is set to begin the last weekend of February or the first weekend of March. To get your season tickets, call (970) 472-0128 or visit the website at www.thecoloradoice.com.
