The most exciting announcement of the winter came Tuesday morning on the WGN News [watch the clip here] when actor Kevin Costner announced he and Schaumburg Flyers owner Rich Ehrenreich are forming a new independent franchise in Zion, Illinois - just northeast of Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills Mall - that will play in the Northern League in 2010 [check out the team website].Everyone associated with the league agrees there has been a need to expand since the departure of Calgary and Edmonton left the Northern League with only six teams for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. This announcement will have to coincide with the addition of an eighth team to balance the schedule in 2010 - even if that's a traveling team.
On the surface, Zion seems to be an excellent location, far enough from north-suburban Schaumburg but close enough to Chicago where there should be an available fan and advertiser base. And the addition of Costner gives the team instant publicity and, hopefully, credibility.
For more on this story, check out some of the coverage in the local media:
The other sort of under-the-radar story here is that it appears the Flyers are now for sale. Ehrenreich is one of the Flyers three principal owners of the Schaumburg franchise and says of offers to buy the club, "for the first time, I'm listening."
Read the full story here.
So what do you think? Let us know in the comments what you feel about this new team.
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