Byline: HARRY MINIUM THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
NORFOLK -- If the first season for a professional franchise is the most difficult, Kenny Easley said he's going to like being an owner.
``We worked hard, learned a lot and had a good time,'' Easley, the former Oscar Smith, UCLA and Seattle Seahawks star, said of his Norfolk Nighthawks arenafootball2 team, which completed its first season three months ago.
As a rookie franchise with a rookie owner, the Nighthawks made mistakes and are making changes, Easley said. They tried to make Saturday and Sunday game night in a town where Friday is the big night for sports.
``We're going to have four Friday night games next season,'' he said.
Overall, it was a pretty good year, Easley said. The Nighthawks averaged nearly 6,500 for regular-season games at Scope and made it to the af2 playoffs. The team lost money, but largely because of startup costs.
``We've started renewing season tickets, and that's been going very well,'' he said. ``We sold about 3,300 last season. Our goal is to add 1,000 to that base.''
Easley had hoped to sell out Scope, which seats about 8,900, for most home games. But only the opener drew a full house.
``Coming here from Seattle and not really having any experience in this sports market, I had high expectations for our fan support,'' he said. ``We probably did better than most people expected we would do. I think, in retrospect, we did OK. I certainly think we will do better.''
The league has also made changes in hopes of getting better:
af2 acquired the Indoor Football League and will gradually add IFL teams. Next season the 15-team af2 will increase by between 11 and 17 teams. Macon, Ga.; Lafayette, Bossier City, and Baton Rouge, La.; Fort Myers, Fla.; Rochester, N.Y.; Lincoln, Neb.; Peoria, Ill.; Wichita, Kan.; Memphis, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky., are already in.
The American and National Conferences have been split into two divisions, with the Nighthawks playing in the Northeast Division of the American Conference with Richmond, Roanoke, Louisville, Greensboro, Rochester and Greenville, S.C. Twelve of Norfolk's 16 games will come against those teams, with the remaining four against Southeast Division members - Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Fort Myers, Fla.; Augusta, Macon and Columbus, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.
Sixteen teams will make the playoffs. The championship game on Aug. 11 will again be broadcast on TNN.
NOTES: Offensive coordnator Steven Jerry will be interviewed by Roanoke for its vacant head coaching position. . . . Lineman Silas Demary recently graduated from Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe's Sheriff's Academy. Demary has been offered a contract by the AFL's Carolina Cobras. . . . Patricia Baines has been promoted to vice president of game-day operations and marketing, while Mike McCaffrey has been named director of media relations, replacing Rusty Koss, who moved into private business in South Carolina.
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``We worked hard, learned a lot and had a good time,'' Kenny Easley says of his team's rookie season.
