UFL to add Norfolk team for 2011 season

NEW YORK (AP) - The United Football League (UFL) says it's adding a team in Norfolk.

The team will be the UFL's sixth team overall and will begin play in 2011 as its second expansion franchise. The league says it hopes to expand to up to 14 teams.

The league's board approved Virginia businessman Jim Speros as the provisional owner of the team, and former Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams as the general manager.

Speros was the founding owner of a Baltimore-based team that played in the Canadian Football League in the mid-1990s, and coached with the Redskins under Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs. Williams was the MVP of Super Bowl XXII.

“I am very fortunate to be able to bring a pro football team to the state of Virginia and especially to the Tidewater region,” said Speros in a press release from the UFL. “There is already a lot of football history in this area and I believe Norfolk will become the shining star of the United Football League.

“Virginia is a great state, but it does not have a professional sports team. It has the legendary 757 area code that has produced the likes of Bruce Smith and Michael Vick and is truly a hotbed for football. The fans are knowledgeable, there is a military presence here and I am sure they will all enjoy the opportunity to watch quality football.”

UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue added: “We are delighted to welcome Norfolk, Virginia, and the Tidewater region as our sixth city and are excited to have a successful team owner in Jim Speros and a proven winner in Doug Williams on board to lead the team.

“Like Omaha, which came on board as an expansion team in April and has already generated considerable excitement, Norfolk fits the ideal UFL model of having a passionate fan base that we believe deserves a professional football team.”

The Omaha Nighthawks will debut in the UFL's second season this fall, joining the Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, Las Vegas Locomotives and Sacramento Mountain Lions.

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