Jacksonville Tomcats

Arena Football 2 (2000-2002)

Background

The Jacksonville Tomcats played for three seasons in Arena Football 2, the small-market developmental league of the now-defunct Arena Football League (AFL). Jacksonville was one of the larger cities in AF2 and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver actually owned the market rights to put a top tier AFL club into Jacksonville, but he never exercised it.

The Tomcats were one of 15 original franchises when AF2 launched in the spring of 2000.  By 2002 there were 34 active teams in the sprawling league.  The original owners of the Tomcats were David Berkman, Charles Felix and Bruce Burge. The trio controlled a small empire of AF2 clubs and minor league hockey teams, primarily in the Southeastern United States, during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, including the Jacksonville Lizard Kings of the East Coast Hockey League.

In August 2001, Berkman sold an 80% interest in the team to Steve and Kathryn Umberger, husband and wife investors who dreamed of owning a piece of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, but ultimately realized that minor league indoor football was more their speed. The Umbergers previously purchased the Birmingham Steeldogs, another Af2 franchise, from David Berkman less than a year earlier.

Demise & Aftermath

The Tomcats sold out their inaugural season at the Jacksonville Coliseum, claiming an average of 8,258 fans per game in 2000.  The antiquated Coliseum presented a challenge in marketing and operations.   The small floor of the building required the Tomcats to play with a slightly smaller than regulation field.  By 2002 attendance dipped nearly 25% and new owner Steve Umberger lost several hundred thousand dollars on the Tomcats.  Umberger asked AF2 officials for a year’s leave of absence from the league in November 2002, hoping to sit on the sidelines until the Coliseum was demolished and Jacksonville’s new $130 million arena opened in 2004.  When that request was denied, Umberger folded the Tomcats in November 2002.

Three Tomcats players ended up playing briefly in the National Football League.  2001 receiving leader Anthony Bright played a single game for the Carolina Panthers in 2002.  Jim Tarle, who kicked for the team in 2000, played two years for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a kickoff specialist in 2001 and 2002.  Receiver Micah Ross played for the Jags, Panthers and San Diego Chargers during a four-year stretch in the NFL from 2001 to 2004.

Arena Football returned to Jacksonville in 2010 with the formation of the Jacksonville Sharks of the re-booted Arena Football League.

Links

Arena Football 2 Media Guides

Arena Football 2 Programs

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