Last week we learned that a northern Minnesota city has attracted its first professional sports franchise: the Bemidji Axemen of the Indoor Football League. The Axemen will play a 14-game schedule that begins in February. The league consists of upper Midwest franchises and Bemidji’s central location was a key reason for the city’s selection.
Twin Cities Business broke the story, which I read in MinnPost.
“I definitely believe in the potential of this market,” Chris Kokalis, co-owner and president of the new team, said, adding that he was impressed with Bemidji and the city-owned Sanford Center arena, where the football team will play.
But can indoor football be an economic development tool for the city?
Kokalis said that he’s received an encouraging response from the Bemidji business community about potential sponsorships. Kokalis said that there are 60,000 people within a 60-mile radius of Bemidji and that he’s hoping that the team can draw 3,700 to 4,000 fans per game.
“It’s bringing professional sports into markets that might not always have that,” he said. “The team has already sold a couple hundred season tickets.”
While Bemidji is known as the hometown of legendary tall tale logger Paul Bunyan (who is not and was not a real person), the logo appears to include a non-specific angry logger as its mascot. The Bemidji Axemen is a fine name, but misses the cross-promotional opportunities of the Axe Giants, which could have included big screen selections from the critically-acclaimed acknowledged movie of that name from last year.
IFL is played on 50-foot field, so … lots of action.
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