Big vision for small football league

ST. PETERSBURG - The professional baseball team owns a little piece of a professional football team.

Granted, it's a team in the brand new and still tiny United Football League. But there is a long-term business strategy behind Friday night's game between the Las Vegas Locos and the Florida Tuskers in Tropicana Field.

"This is really an Orlando team that they want to capture Orlando fans, and ultimately develop a base for the Rays," explains UFL chief operating officer Frank Vuono.

Rays vice president Michael Kalt outlines the specifics.

"Particularly on the business side there are a lot of things about running a sports franchise that translate between sports in terms of stadium management, fan experience and game presentation, sales, marketing, community relations and what-have-you," Kalt said.

Neither executive would predict how many people might attend the game, which competes with high school football action. But with most players making $35,000 for the season, the average ticket price is $20.

But Vuono says he has "humble expectations," and Kalt says quality, not quantity is key -- at first.

"I'd rather have demonstrated in the premiere season that quality football was good, and go into next season saying, 'okay how do we market, how do we sell that quality football than the other way around?'" Kalt said.

The UFL has four teams playing 13 games this season, but Vuono expects there will be at least six franchises next year.