Pensacola Barracudas

Arena Football 2 (2000-2002)

Background

The Pensacola Barracudas were a brief entry in Arena Football 2 (AF2), the small-market developmental league to the original Arena Football League (1987-2008).

Georgia real estate developer David Berkman owned the Barracudas, along with minority partners Charles Felix and Bruce Burge.  Berkman was a prolific hockey investor during the 1990’s and early 2000’s who owned franchises in the East Coast Hockey League, the International Hockey League and Roller Hockey International. Locally, Berkman and his partners owned the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL, who also played at the Civic Center.

In the spring of 1999 Berkman and his partners made a bid to enter three indoor football franchises into a Southeastern U.S. start-up called the Xtreme Football League.  Berkman’s group reserved the Birmingham, Jacksonville and Pensacola markets. All three cities were markets where they had experience operating ECHL hockey clubs.

Meanwhile, the major market Arena Football League announced plans to start its own second-tier league that would be known as AF2 and would launch in 2000.  In July 1999, AF2 bought out and absorbed the Xtreme Football League into AF2.  Berkman and Co. paid a $150,000 fee per franchise to enter the Birmingham Steeldogs, Jacksonville Tomcats and Pensacola Barracudas into AF2.

On The Carpet

Former Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets defensive back Kevin Porter served as Pensacola’s Head Coach during the club’s first season in 2000. Bruce Cowdrey coached the ‘Cudas in 2001. Former  New Orleans Saints quarterback Mike Buck guided the club through its final season of 2002.

Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Will Pettis made his pro debut with the Barracudas in 2002.  He went on to join the first-tier Arena Football League’s Dallas Desperadoes in 2003, where he became an All-League performer. Pettis won the league’s Ironman-of-the-Year award in both 2007 and 2008, given to the league’s best two-way player.  Pettis went to NFL training camps with the New Orleans Saints (2003) and the Atlanta Falcons (2005).

Demise

Due to the overlapping ownership, the staff of the ECHL Ice Pilots operated the Barracudas during the summer months.  During AF2’s first season in 2000, the Barracudas were a hot ticket, claiming an average of 7,294 fans per game at the Pensacola Civic Center. Attendance dropped precipitously in the next two seasons. This mirrored the experience of the Ice Pilots hockey team, whose attendance fell off nearly 50% between 1998 and 2001. Barracudas attendance bottomed out at 2,768 per game in their third season during the summer of 2002.

The club folded on November 11, 2002.

Links

Arena Football 2 Media Guides

Arena Football 2 Programs

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