The Arena League comes to Eau Claire with unique rules aimed at fan involvement
The Arena League is planning to bring an expansion football team to Eau Claire in 2025. The new league is beginning play in the summer of 2024 and will have a far different look than what football fans will be used to in the National Football League or even other indoor football leagues.
Something to note about The Arena League is that the league is conscious of the need to be smart financially to keep it up and running. For that reason, the league is hoping to strike a balance on rules that both make sense financially and appeal to fans at the same time.
“The cost to operate a team in this league is about a half to a third of other leagues,” Arena League advisor Tommy Benizio said. “[There’s] a reduced number of games, a smaller geography so there’s less travel [and] there’s less players on the roster.”
One key objective for the league is the hope to greatly speed up the pace of play and the time of games. There will be no huddles, except when a timeout is called, and 20-second play clocks in an effort to foster a fast-paced game that enthralls fans.
“Our mission was to create a game that was faster and more fun,” Benizio said. “Create better athletes, not be four hours long. We want to leave people wanting more with two, two and a half hour games.”
Another key difference will be that each team will have a 15-man roster. Players will play both offense and defense. The games will also be six-on-six as opposed to the traditional 11-on-11 format.
There are no restrictions on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, three players line up at the traditional guard and center positions. The player lined up in the quarterback position is not allowed to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage. All six players on offense can be eligible receivers.
All players and coaches will communicate with helmet communication systems that can be listened to by fans as it happens. The game will also be played on a field that is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide, hence why the Eau Claire team will play its home games at the Sonnentag Center’s basketball court rather than the field house.
Kicking of any kind is not a thing in the Arena League. A video explaining the rules on the league’s website says team’s will be forced to go for it or “surrender” on fourth downs. Onside kicks are replaced by onside conversions and kickoffs are replaced by quarterback throwoffs.
Another big point of emphasis for the league is with the referees. There will only be one official on the field that marks the ball and announces penalties. There will be another official, not on the field, will be watching multiple camera angles and will decide penalties as they happen.
Both coaches and fans will have the ability to listen in on the referees communications and coaches can even talk to officials directly.
Perhaps most interestingly, there will be a “public rating system” to hold officials accountable for their performance after each game according to a video on the league’s website. The league hires and trains the officials and the fans can grade them. It’s all a part of a plan to get fans involved in as many aspects of the game as possible.
“The fact that you get to vote about the officials, I wish I was there for that. I need to be a part of that,” Commissioner and NFL Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Tim Brown joked.
The league will certainly be a much different type of football than most are used to and the level at which fans can get involved is certainly higher than in many other areas of sport. The league won’t arrive in Eau Claire until 2025, but the league’s four inaugural teams will put these rules to the test this summer.
