In the Arena Football League, home-field advantage during the playoffs is a positive for coaches and players – and the franchise’s business operations manager.
That’s why the Colorado Crush’s Bill Britten is looking forward to the team’s first-round playoff game Sunday against the San Jose SaberCats.
“We’ll definitely be in the black from the game,” Britten said Tuesday. “Tickets are going well, and our season ticket-holders have shown a lot of interest.”
The Crush’s 13-3 record at the Pepsi Center over the past two seasons may seem like a home-field advantage, but it might not mean much against the SaberCats. San Jose’s record against the Crush is 4-0 in three seasons, and the average margin of victory has been 31 points, including an 89-41 game this year.
The business operations department also has its work cut out.
“There isn’t revenue-sharing in the Arena Football League,” said Chris McCloskey, senior vice president of communications. “But in the playoffs, we have a way of helping the visiting team that doesn’t have the advantages of having a home game.”
During the regular season, the home team is responsible for the visiting team’s lodging expenses for up to two nights. The same applies in the playoffs. But in the postseason, the home team also gives the visiting team $45,000.
In the case of the Crush, it faces the $45,000 payout to the visiting team for two weeks if it wins the first-round game because Colorado also has home-field advantage for the June 5 conference championship game. Last year, the Crush was the visiting team in two playoff games.
Financial arrangements become complicated when the league’s playoff pool enters the picture.
The league provides $30,000 to teams that lose in the first round. A $75,000 payment goes to the losing teams in the conference championship games. The ArenaBowl runner-up gets $180,000 and the champion receives $250,000.
Footnotes
Interleague play provides little indication of where the power lies. The National Conference held a 24-23 advantage in games scheduled against American Conference teams during the regular season. … The conference winners meet June 12 for the AFL championship in Las Vegas. The weekend of activities begins June 9 with the Arena- Bowl Awards. On June 11, the ArenaBash concert is scheduled at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, featuring Maroon 5, John Legend, Gavin DeGraw and Low Millions.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
