Build it and they will come...

What an exciting season it was. The 2005 season will always be special to me, as not only was it our actual first year as the Raptors, but It was just so much fun. Looking back, we all had such a great time. Sure the losses were tough, but hey that's football, or for that matter any sport. You take your losses, and learn what you can from them, and move on. Winning our season opener against the Knights was incredible. What an evening that was. Through out the season, each game was filled with emotions of virtually every kind. If there is one word that described each game, that word was Entertaining. There were crushing hits, long passes for touch downs, long kick off returns, great runs, shoe string catches, sacks, fumbles, pick offs, and blocked field goals. The games were intense, and filled with emotion, kind of a like a hybrid between College and Pro. An evening of incredibly exciting, live sports entertainment, and all for only the cost of a pizza! So where were the fans? Greeneville, TN has roughly the same size population as Bluefield, WV. There were nearly 6,000 fans at the Barons vs. Raptors game, but only 200 at the Raptors vs. Barons game. So, what gives? Trust me when I tell you that as the owner of the Greeneville Raptors, I have done a great deal of deep thinking about this quandary. Both teams are nearly identical in everyway, everyway except one, and that is Mitchell Stadium. The Barons enjoy the opportunity to play all of their home games in a 10,000 seating capacity, very nice stadium. Barons' fans get to enjoy the real experience of Minor League Football at it's best. In sharp contrast, Raptors fans have not had the opportunity to enjoy the full experience of the game, because the setting simply isn't as exciting, as a larger stadium offers. Even watching the Titans play the Dolphins, wouldn't be the same experience at a 500 seating field that the local high school team plays at. Now don't get me wrong, we are thankful for the opportunity to play period, the schools in Greeneville have been very helpful and we are very grateful, I am merely making a valid point from the fans point of view. Even the allure of watching and supporting local home town hero's doing battle on the grid iron, isn't enough to draw them out in droves. So, all of that said, one of our top priorities, as the leadership of this organization, is to acquire a stadium, a real home for the Raptors. We have worked very hard to build a top quality franchise, and put a quality product on the field. Our players are very talented and they look sharp! We have a lot of work to do yet, but I believe we have succeeded in building one of Minor League Football's top brands. In 2006, we will be communicating with Greeneville High, and if all goes well, hopefully, our fans will be able to enjoy watching the Raptors in one of the nicest high school football stadiums in Northeast TN. Greeneville High will be great. However, in order for the Raptors to truly become all that they can be to the City of Greeneville and it's fine residents, we need a home field, that is worthy of their presence. Our goal remains, to play our 2007 season in our own 5,000+ seating stadium. We are communicating with the City and County and are working hard to make this a reality. Stay tuned.
posted by Randy Ferrell on 11/10/05 at 11:48 AM