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Charlotte has a new professional football team.
The Carolina Speed, a minor-league arena squad, will play in Cricket Arena after spending its first two seasons in Concord.
The Speed is one of 17 teams in the American Indoor Football Association. The roster will be 30 players, of which 20 will travel and play each week, in a season that runs from March to June.
“A big reason for the move was to find a central location in Mecklenburg County,” said Matthew Finch, the Speed's vice president of sales and marketing. “As far as playing in Cricket Arena, it looks like it was built for arena football.”
Cricket Arena, on Independence Boulevard, hasn't had a sports team as a tenant since the Charlotte Checkers, a minor-league hockey team, shifted to Time Warner Cable three years ago.
The AIFA is one of several arena leagues a notch below the Arena Football League, whose season includes nationally televised games on NBC. Last season, the Speed had two players who were signed by the AFL's Georgia Force. Arena football is played on a 50-yard field, with padded walls, no punts and eight players per team on the field.
Speed tickets will be $15-$25 per game, with season tickets as low as $60. Group packages are available.
The team owner is Eddie Littlefield, president and CEO of the David Drye Co., and owner of Carolina Auto Sports in Concord. The Speed last month became the primary sponsor of Angie McBride's NHRA Pro Stock motorcycle at the inaugural NHRA Carolina Nationals at the new zMax @ Dragway in Concord.
Ramon Robinson is in his second season as Speed coach.
The Speed is Charlotte's fourth foray into indoor football. The Charlotte Rage played in the early 1990s, and the Carolina Cobras folded in 2004 after two seasons. Both played at Charlotte Coliseum, which has since been demolished. The Carolina Sharks formed in 2005 with intentions to play at Cricket Arena, but folded before the first game.
Ticket information: 704-786-0280 or carolinaspeed.com
A tryout will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Waddell High School, 7030 Nations Ford Road. Registration fee will be $50. Info: 704-786-0280, or e-mail Robinson at Ramon.Robinson@carolinaspeed.com.
