Indoor football in the Valley?

WASILLA — Ever since the Alaska Wild, the state’s first professional indoor football franchise, made its debut in Anchorage, Hans Deemer has envisioned bringing indoor professional football to the Mat-Su Valley.

Now Deemer’s vision may be less than a year from becoming a reality.

The former Mat-Su prep football coach and Wild bench boss has signed a letter of intent with the Intense Football League to bring a franchise to the Valley that would start competing in the 2010 season.

“My ultimate goal going in was to some day see (an indoor professional football team) in the Valley, “Deemer said on Saturday. “And the time is now.”

Deemer said he’s already met with Tommy Benizio, the commissioner of the 5-year-old IFL. He’s met with Bruce Urban, the recreation and cultural services manager for the city of Wasilla, about making the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex the official home of this franchise. Deemer has created a business plan that includes an operating budget of $700,000 dollars for the first year. He’s in the process of searching for investors and putting together an ownership group.

There’s a dance team and the franchise even has a name — the Arctic Predators.

All of the above have Deemer confident that the Valley will boast its first professional sports franchise when the IFL starts the 2010 season next March.

“I’m 100 percent sure,” Deemer said. “But I’m a positive guy.”

Although there is no official agreement between the city of Wasilla and a new indoor football franchise, Urban said city officials are excited about the potential of bringing the sport to the Valley and the sports complex.

“I’m excited about it,” Urban said on Friday. “We’re here to market the facility for anything and everything we can.”

Urban said discussions to make the sports complex and the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Arena home to the Predators are preliminary at best, but it’s something the city is “strongly considering.”

“There’s no reason why we would not consider it,” Urban said. “We still need to work out the details.”

Urban said the timing of the IFL season is appealing. Typically, the arena’s biggest sports draw is hockey. The facility is already home to the Alaska Avalanche Junior A hockey franchise and hosts a myriad of high school and youth hockey games. But as the local hockey squads are about ready to put away the sticks and pucks for the year, IFL teams are just about ready to roll out the artificial carpet.

Urban said he thinks the layout of the facility is conducive to indoor football. The franchise would need to bring in the carpet and the sideboard pads, Urban said, and the field would sit in the same spot as the hockey rink. The arena could house upward of 2,200 fans.

Deemer said he toured the facility with Benizio last week and the IFL commissioner was pleased with what he saw.

Deemer also believes the Menard is a place for football.

“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” Deemer said.

Deemer’s business plan includes beer sales and food vendors, he said. He also wants to incorporate local sports organizations and non-profits. Most importantly, Deemer said, he wants the Mat-Su community a part of any future success of this franchise.

“I think we’re going to have the community behind us,” Deemer said.

Deemer spent two years with the Wild, spending most of that time as the head coach of team. Alaska finished 2-12-0 during its inaugural season in 2007, and improved to 6-8-0 the following year and earned the team’s first playoff berth in franchise history. Deemer left the Wild prior to the 2009 campaign and was replaced by Alaska’s current head coach, Floyd Johnson.

Based on his time with the Wild, Deemer said he feels like a football franchise can thrive in the Valley.

“I’m pro Valley, everybody knows that. That’s no secret,” Deemer said. “I’ve always said, anything Anchorage can do, we can do better.”

Deemer said a primary goal is to involve Valley business in this venture.

“I really want some local business people who have been established here in the Valley to be involved,” he said.

Deemer also wants to provide affordable entertainment for local families.

“I see all these people, and they’re hungry for football,” Deemer said. “This makes for a great outing. It’s meant to be at a reasonable price so the whole family can go enjoy.”

The IFL currently has nine teams in the league. Two of those squads, the Wild and the Fairbanks Grizzlies, are in Alaska.

There are still a number of steps that need to be taken before the Predators can hit the carpet next March. Deemer will continue his search for local investors and is tentatively slated to make a presentation to IFL owners after the 2009 season. Deemer has also started his search for talent.

“I’ve already received phone calls,” Deemer said. “The recruiting has already started.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.