ARENA SOCCER ASSOCIATION
2035 CLEVELAND AVE. N.W. CANTON, OHIO, 44709 PHONE: 330-455-4625 FAX: 330-497-6904

Arena Soccer Association Announces Startup

CANTON, Ohio – Steve M. Paxos announced today the formation of an exciting new venture in American sports entertainment – the Arena Soccer Association.

Years in the planning, the ASA will be bringing action packed, affordable sports entertainment to arenas throughout North America. A proven management team has installed a fiscally responsible business plan that ensures stability and growth in an ever-competitive professional sports scene.

“Arena soccer experienced great success in the 1980s and 90s,” said Paxos, president of the new league. “Sports fans loved it – but corporate mistakes stunted its growth. We believe that by applying the ASA’s basic business principles, arena soccer will flourish once again.”

Born in the fun-filled 1970s, arena soccer made a giant splash with a sports-crazed public craving nonstop action at affordable prices. It attracted families who couldn’t shell out half a week’s income to attend a sporting event. It enticed college students seeking a hip “date night” that didn’t break the bank. By the early 1980s, fans were packing many arenas to see the wild sport that was dubbed “human pinball”.

Paxos formed the Canton Invaders as part of the new American Indoor Soccer Association in 1984 –then served as league commissioner from 1988 until 2000. The league became the National Professional Soccer League in 1990 and the foresight and guidance provided by Paxos’ management team made it America’s longest-running professional indoor soccer league.

The ASA is tapping into that experience. Two key members of the NPSL’s executive team will serve in similar roles in the ASA. Chuck Murr is vice president of media relations and Sally Rodgers is director of business and accounting. Other executives with decades of sport management knowledge will soon be joining the ASA.

They will bring the expertise that helped transform the NPSL from four struggling clubs into an enterprising 15-team league across the United States and Canada. The NPSL enjoyed continuity with expansion,packed arenas, and nationally televised games on ESPN.

“Arena soccer is America’s version of the world’s most popular sport,” Paxos said. “The most exciting aspects of soccer are scoring goals – and great goalkeeper saves. An arena field approximately onefifth the size of a World Cup pitch means roughly five times the scoring chances. There are infinitely more skillful and athletic opportunities throughout the course of a game.”

The ASA is meeting with ownership groups across America and Canada that have expressed interest in being part of the league’s inaugural season in 2011. Original teams will be based in mid-America, with plans of coast-to-coast play and innovative ideas regarding television.

“There’s no limit to the extent of expansion,” Paxos said. “The only criteria for ownership is to stick with the plan, support fellow owners, and let the sport sell itself.”

For further information e-mail: chuck@arenasoccer.net