09/28/2009 1:44 PM - Tulsa, OK: Arena Football 1 was officially introduced this afternoon at a press conference held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With this announcement, it is assured, the game Jim Foster invented will be competitive and above all fan friendly. Long serving arena football executive Jerry Kurz was introduced as Commissioner of the newly created league that will unite former AFL, af2 and other indoor football teams under the Arena Football 1 banner.

Commissioner Kurz will serve a key leadership role with the new organization, noting “I am extremely pleased and honored to have been asked to help lead Arena Football 1, which is designed by ownership and highly dedicated to delivering the best arena football has to offer while serving as active, valued and integral members of their respective communities.”

Arena Football 1 will be headquartered in Tulsa and will feature a minimum of 16 member teams participating in the 2010 season of play. To date a total of 24 teams have submitted applications for membership, although additional locations and markets will receive consideration for inclusion through Friday, October 9th, 2009. A final roster of markets/teams and alignment for the inaugural season will be announced in mid October.

Additional structural and organizational details involving league scheduling, rules and regulations will be determined in the weeks ahead, with specifics made available once finalized.

The initial sixteen teams and their respective markets are: Arizona, Arkansas, Bossier-Shreveport, Central Valley (Fresno, California), Chicago, Iowa, Jacksonville, Kentucky, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Spokane, Tennessee Valley (Alabama), Tri-Cities Washington, Tulsa, Utah (Salt Lake City). Additional teams will be announced by October 9th.

“Having been involved in the launch of both the Arena Football League and the arenafootball2, our new structure will utilize the best aspects of both leagues,” said Kurz. “The time, effort and thought process expended to create and launch Arena Football 1 has been impressive, and we expect arena football fans both across the country and internationally to be extremely pleased with our new product.”