Kiss News

KISS and the Arena Football League Bring Professional Football Back to Los Angeles with Expansion Team, the LA KISS

Unique partnership comes together at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, to fuse music and sports with exciting and affordable entertainment

Los Angeles, CA � August 15, 2013 � After a five year hiatus, professional football will be returning to one of the largest and most exciting media markets in the country, Los Angeles. Announced today at ArenaBowl XXVI Media Day, rock legends KISS, Arena Football League (AFL) veteran Brett Bouchy, Doc McGhee (McGhee Entertainment) and AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz are bringing the high-octane entertainment of Arena Football back to Los Angeles with a new expansion team, The LA KISS (www.lakissfootball.com).

"Season tickets are now on sale for what we know will be some of the most action-packed games ever played at the Honda Center," said Paul Stanley of KISS. "Arena Football is played at a fast and furious pace and making season tickets available now for the budget-friendly price of $99 gives a whole new meaning to bang for the buck." Additionally, all inaugural LA KISS season seat holders will be invited to a free KISS concert to take place at Honda Center in 2014! www.hondacenter.com/lakiss
KISS and the Arena Football League Bring Professional Football Back to Los Angeles with Expansion Team, the LA KISS

Unique partnership comes together at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, to fuse music and sports with exciting and affordable entertainment

Los Angeles, CA � August 15, 2013 � After a five year hiatus, professional football will be returning to one of the largest and most exciting media markets in the country, Los Angeles. Announced today at ArenaBowl XXVI Media Day, rock legends KISS, Arena Football League (AFL) veteran Brett Bouchy, Doc McGhee (McGhee Entertainment) and AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz are bringing the high-octane entertainment of Arena Football back to Los Angeles with a new expansion team, The LA KISS (www.lakissfootball.com).

"Season tickets are now on sale for what we know will be some of the most action-packed games ever played at the Honda Center," said Paul Stanley of KISS. "Arena Football is played at a fast and furious pace and making season tickets available now for the budget-friendly price of $99 gives a whole new meaning to bang for the buck." Additionally, all inaugural LA KISS season seat holders will be invited to a free KISS concert to take place at Honda Center in 2014! www.hondacenter.com/lakiss

�As a fast-paced, high-action band this partnership with the AFL was an obvious fit for us,� said Gene Simmons of KISS. �With Arena Football, you are much closer to the action - sitting in the front row is like putting a folding chair on the hash mark of an NFL game � and it�s one of the only sports where you can experience this level of intensity. Attending an LA KISS game in 2014 will be similar to a live KISS show, with thrilling, heart pounding action.�

The AFL (www.arenafootball.com), which is dedicated to playing and promoting in-arena professional football around the world, will mark its 27th season in 2014. With primetime TV broadcasts on CBS Sports Network every Saturday, and over 150,000 fan connections each week, the league is poised to expand into homes across the country like never before. This new alliance with KISS will further strengthen the league�s bond within the expansive U.S. entertainment and sports industries. The ArenaBowl XXVI Championship game kicks off Saturday, August 17 at 1pm EST / 10am PST and will air nationally on the CBS Television Network. The broadcast will feature a KISS halftime show on their new �spider stage.�

Honda Center has partnered alongside the band and the team to provide a home for the sport and its newest expansion team. As a world-class sports and entertainment venue, which has consistently ranked among the top in the country, this Orange County arena will serve as the hub for Arena Football fans in the greater Los Angeles area and help the league engage with the more than 22 million people who call Southern California home.

�As the most fast-paced, exciting league in professional sports, the AFL has always been about providing the best form of entertainment to fans directly in their hometowns,� said AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz. �We could not be more thrilled to bring the league back to Los Angeles, and partnering with such incredible rock legends as KISS is certain to give fans a sports experience unlike anything they have ever seen.�

As the founding members of KISS, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have a vested interest in bringing football back to Los Angeles, a market that has always proved fanatical for both music and football. Both Paul and Gene are fans of the AFL and are excited to lend their own unique brand of non-stop action to games in Los Angeles that will blow fans away!
�This is a great business venture for KISS. They are lending their name to a sport which is destined for big things this year. It�s fantastic to have a team named after the band and it is a privilege to be able to support LA and bring the experience home,� stated KISS Manager DOC McGHEE of McGhee entertainment, who worked to facilitate the partnership.
�With a global brand in KISS, an ownership group dedicated to showcasing a fast-paced and exciting sport and a world-class venue hosting the action - three great entertainment properties are converging with the overall goal of producing an unparalleled AFL experience for fans,� added Tim Ryan, CEO/President of The Honda Center. �This partnership marks a new era for the unification of sports and music.�

In celebration of this announcement, and ArenaBowl XXVI, a three day celebration will kick-off tonight with the annual AFL Celebrity Gala followed by a LIVE concert Friday night, featuring none-other than KISS! The ArenaBowl XXVI Championship game kicks off Saturday, August 17 at 1pm EST / 10am PT and will air nationally on the CBS Television Network. The broadcast will include highlights from KISS�s Friday night performance.

For more information on LA KISS, or to purchase season tickets, please visit www.lakissfootball.com/

The Arena Football League announced that the LA KISS will be an expansion team that will play in Honda Center and be owned in part by band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

By JEFF MILLER

Professional football returns to Orange County next spring in a story so intriguing that the return of the sport isn't even the story.

No, the story is who will own the team, a pair of men likely to wear more makeup than the cheerleaders do. Higher heels, too.

Twenty years after Georgia Frontiere moved her Rams out of Anaheim and became the villain, we're going to have an owner known literally as "The Demon," an owner famous for breathing actual fire.

Are you ready for some football? Probably. But are you ready for some KISS?

The LA KISS � owned in part by painted-up rockers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley � is one of the new expansion franchises in the Arena Football League.

As much as this story sounds make-believe � and, over the past 40 years, the band KISS has been the subject of comic books, cartoons and action figures � it is all very true.

League officials made the announcement Thursday afternoon. The KISS is scheduled to begin play at Honda Center starting in March.The Arena Football League announced that the LA KISS will be an expansion team that will play in Honda Center and be owned in part by band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

By JEFF MILLER

Professional football returns to Orange County next spring in a story so intriguing that the return of the sport isn't even the story.

No, the story is who will own the team, a pair of men likely to wear more makeup than the cheerleaders do. Higher heels, too.

Twenty years after Georgia Frontiere moved her Rams out of Anaheim and became the villain, we're going to have an owner known literally as "The Demon," an owner famous for breathing actual fire.

Are you ready for some football? Probably. But are you ready for some KISS?

The LA KISS � owned in part by painted-up rockers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley � is one of the new expansion franchises in the Arena Football League.

As much as this story sounds make-believe � and, over the past 40 years, the band KISS has been the subject of comic books, cartoons and action figures � it is all very true.

League officials made the announcement Thursday afternoon. The KISS is scheduled to begin play at Honda Center starting in March.

"No one comes away from a KISS concert saying they didn't have a great time or it wasn't a great show," says Brett Bouchy, who will serve as the team's managing partner. "The same thing is going to happen with the LA KISS football team. People will be entertained. They are going to come out of there thinking, 'I got my money's worth.'"

On second thought, maybe this idea isn't so strange. KISS has appeared at the Super Bowl and performed well there, which is more than can be said of the San Diego Chargers.

Simmons and Stanley became involved when AFL officials began negotiating with the band to perform at ArenaBowl XXVI, the league's championship game to be played Saturday in Orlando.

From halftime act to part-time owners, Simmons and Stanley have "a significant" stake in the new team, according to Bouchy.

Stanley also designed the team's logo, which, though yet to be revealed, almost certainly will incorporate flames in some way.

"This isn't just another licensing deal for KISS," Bouchy says. "We are joint partners in the venture. They all have ownership. They are going to be very involved and active with the team."

This partnership does make sense in that KISS, much like the AFL, is famous for its elaborate presentation. Both feature a lot of bright lights, snorting smoke and chaotic noise.

Both also typically are big on the outrageous. At halftime Saturday, for example, KISS is expected to take the stage in Orlando riding atop a giant mechanical spider.

"I always say that going to an arena football game is like drinking water from a fire hose," says Bouchy, who has been affiliated with the AFL for 16 years. "It's a full-sensory experience."

As for a KISS concert, Bouchy says he attended his first show at 15.

"You come out of the concert feeling like you got hit over the head with a sledgehammer," he says, "and that's a good thing."

This will mark the AFL's second try in Anaheim and fourth in the Southland. The Anaheim Piranhas played two seasons at the former Arrowhead Pond in the mid-1990s. Los Angeles has had two AFL franchises � the Avengers (2000-09) and the Cobras (1988).

The league was founded in 1987 and has had an uneven history, even suspending operations during what would have been the 2009 season.

Out of that rock bottom, however, came a new labor agreement between ownership and the players, an agreement that Bouchy says makes teams like the KISS a much more viable business proposition.

"We had an economic model that struggled because of labor costs," he says. "What we've done with our last labor deal is we've broken the mold from other sports. In our model today, you can be very, very profitable when you have 11,000 people in attendance. That wasn't the case before."

Who knows if this will succeed but one thing seems guaranteed: Given the team's ownership, it should be difficult for the LA KISS to be uninteresting. The team promises to make enough noise to be heard.

Along with a special $99 season ticket, for instance, will come a free KISS concert at Honda Center.

As Simmons once said, "Life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself."

"Nobody in music understands business, promotion and entertainment like KISS does," Bouchy says. "That's why I think they're a unique band to do this with. There is no other band that could pull something like this off.

"We're going to shock people. I fully expect to have 17,000 in the building for our opening game. This will work. I think you're going to see the LA KISS playing in Honda Center 30 years from now."

We definitely should see them playing there eight months from now. See them, hear them, feel them.

Filling our senses with a partnership that's either crazy or perfectly logical.

By Ted Berg

KISS, nearing its 40th anniversary, prides itself on appealing to rock-and-roll fans from every strata of society � provided they enjoy anthemic arena rock and elaborate live shows performed by men in heavy makeup and shoulder pads.

Founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley hope to establish a similarly broad fanbase with their newest project, a partnership with the Arena Football League as owners of an Anaheim-based expansion team known as LA KISS.

�The whole idea of an alternative to what has perhaps become a corporate sport is very intriguing, and resonates with us,� Stanley told USA TODAY Sports by phone on Wednesday. �We�ve always tried to be a band that relates to everybody, and the AFL is built on that whole premise.�

Though the band�s logo will be incorporated into the team�s uniforms, and though Stanley and Simmons hope to bring their understanding of live performance to the team�s home games at the Honda Civic Center, the pair emphasized that they aim to create a true football experience.

�There�s been a lot of attention to detail, to nuances, so that people don�t think this is a rock band in football helmets,� Simmons said. �This is real football, and this is good for the game.�By Ted Berg

KISS, nearing its 40th anniversary, prides itself on appealing to rock-and-roll fans from every strata of society � provided they enjoy anthemic arena rock and elaborate live shows performed by men in heavy makeup and shoulder pads.

Founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley hope to establish a similarly broad fanbase with their newest project, a partnership with the Arena Football League as owners of an Anaheim-based expansion team known as LA KISS.

�The whole idea of an alternative to what has perhaps become a corporate sport is very intriguing, and resonates with us,� Stanley told USA TODAY Sports by phone on Wednesday. �We�ve always tried to be a band that relates to everybody, and the AFL is built on that whole premise.�

Though the band�s logo will be incorporated into the team�s uniforms, and though Stanley and Simmons hope to bring their understanding of live performance to the team�s home games at the Honda Civic Center, the pair emphasized that they aim to create a true football experience.

�There�s been a lot of attention to detail, to nuances, so that people don�t think this is a rock band in football helmets,� Simmons said. �This is real football, and this is good for the game.�

Added Stanley: �We wouldn�t put LA KISS on a football helmet if we didn�t believe we could kick it out of the park.�

Los Angles has not seen professional football since two previous AFL franchises folded before the league canceled its 2009 season. Both Los Angeles-based NFL teams left the city after the 1994 season. KISS will run the team in conjunction with veteran AFL executive Brett Bouchy, who recently sold his interest in the Orlando Predators.

�We don�t want to wear too many hats,� Stanley said. �When it�s appropriate, we will defer to the people who have experience with this. We�re bringing something new to the party.�

�We�re not going to be passive players in this,� Simmons added. �We�re really going to be a part of this thing.�

KISS will perform the halftime show for the league�s championship game, ArenaBowl XXVI, in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday. And though its members did not commit to playing regularly at LA KISS games, Stanley said he planned to attend home games with his family �as a point of pride.�

Asked if the new AFL owners will endorse their team�s players wearing eye-black and face paint indoors, Stanley said, �We�ll leave that to the people who are better suited to make those decisions. But I personally think a little black under the eye looks very good.�

The team will sell season-ticket packages starting at $99, and Stanley and Simmons hope that with their expertise, the club�s games will emerge as a low-cost alternative to other live sporting events in the area.

�It�s exciting beyond anything that we�ve thought about before, to be given the privilege of really starting out bringing the amount of showmanship we brought to a rock band called KISS,� Simmons said. �It�s going to be that kind of in-your-face entertainment, whether you�re a football fan or not.�

By Jim Abbott

For starters, Gene Simmons and Klaw look like they both go to the same tailor. Yet the same taste in wardrobe by the Kiss bassist and the Orlando Predators mascot isn't the only reason that the veteran arena-rock band and the Arena Football League are meant to be together.

When Kiss play their role as the league's de facto rock ambassadors with a Friday concert at Amway Center, the band will consummate a marriage made in pop-culture heaven. The show will unfold on the eve of Saturday's ArenaBowl XXVI.

Not since John Fogerty ensured a sound bite in every respectable seventh-inning stretch in baseball with his 1985 song "Centerfield" has a musical act been such a perfect match to a sport.

Consider:

The Arena League likes to blow things up. So does Kiss.

-The Arena League is willing to bypass the boring stuff for touchdowns, touchdowns, touchdowns on its shortened 50-yard indoor field with the walls ideal for player collisions. With the exception of the maudlin ballad "Beth," Kiss won't make fans wait to rock out.

-The Arena League has faced its occasional battles for respect, with its rosters of not-yet-NFL-caliber athletes and fading NFL stars such as former Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Shaun King. Likewise, Kiss has endured its share of arrows from the critics:

"Kiss still lacks that flash of creative madness that could have made their music interesting, or at least listenable," stated a 1976 Rolling Stone review of "Destroyer," the band's first platinum album.

-Both the band and the league are survivors. The guys in Kiss � original members Simmons and Paul Stanley, and additions Eric Singer (drums) and Tommy Thayer (guitar) � are celebrating the band's 40th anniversary. Meanwhile, the Arena Football league marked its 25th anniversary in 2012, a milestone unapproachable by other alternative football leagues, including the one-season failure of the WWE honcho Vince McMahon's XFL in 2001.

For the Arena League, Kiss offers the potential of new fans that might be culled from the worldwide Kiss Army. When the band was recruited to be part of this season's marketing campaign, members did more than incorporate a new song, "Right Here, Right Now," as theme of weekly televised games on cable's CBS Sports Network.
By Jim Abbott

For starters, Gene Simmons and Klaw look like they both go to the same tailor. Yet the same taste in wardrobe by the Kiss bassist and the Orlando Predators mascot isn't the only reason that the veteran arena-rock band and the Arena Football League are meant to be together.

When Kiss play their role as the league's de facto rock ambassadors with a Friday concert at Amway Center, the band will consummate a marriage made in pop-culture heaven. The show will unfold on the eve of Saturday's ArenaBowl XXVI.

Not since John Fogerty ensured a sound bite in every respectable seventh-inning stretch in baseball with his 1985 song "Centerfield" has a musical act been such a perfect match to a sport.

Consider:

The Arena League likes to blow things up. So does Kiss.

-The Arena League is willing to bypass the boring stuff for touchdowns, touchdowns, touchdowns on its shortened 50-yard indoor field with the walls ideal for player collisions. With the exception of the maudlin ballad "Beth," Kiss won't make fans wait to rock out.

-The Arena League has faced its occasional battles for respect, with its rosters of not-yet-NFL-caliber athletes and fading NFL stars such as former Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Shaun King. Likewise, Kiss has endured its share of arrows from the critics:

"Kiss still lacks that flash of creative madness that could have made their music interesting, or at least listenable," stated a 1976 Rolling Stone review of "Destroyer," the band's first platinum album.

-Both the band and the league are survivors. The guys in Kiss � original members Simmons and Paul Stanley, and additions Eric Singer (drums) and Tommy Thayer (guitar) � are celebrating the band's 40th anniversary. Meanwhile, the Arena Football league marked its 25th anniversary in 2012, a milestone unapproachable by other alternative football leagues, including the one-season failure of the WWE honcho Vince McMahon's XFL in 2001.

For the Arena League, Kiss offers the potential of new fans that might be culled from the worldwide Kiss Army. When the band was recruited to be part of this season's marketing campaign, members did more than incorporate a new song, "Right Here, Right Now," as theme of weekly televised games on cable's CBS Sports Network.

There's a gridiron feel to the song's lyrics � "Got a chance to break and run with the ball, get up when you fall" � even if success in the pass-happy Arena League isn't usually built on a solid running game.

"Before the season started, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and the rest of the guys in the band were in Australia, but they shot all types of video footage to promote the league," says Anthony Herron, the league's vice president of broadcast communications and branding. "They were autographing footballs to get the Kiss Army invested in the season early on. The band is all in."

Kiss won't perform at the ArenaBowl game on Saturday, which airs at 1 p.m. on CBS (WKMG-Channel 6), but band members (sans makeup) will watch from one of the Amway's luxury boxes, Herron says. Mary Miranda, a contestant on season four of NBC's "The Voice," will sing the national anthem.

CBS will air a prerecorded Kiss concert performance as part of the game's halftime coverage. In the arena, fans will watch a fan try to kick a field goal from midfield to win $100,000. Maybe one of the Kiss guys can be persuaded to attempt a kick, just for sport.

For now, the members of Kiss are merely fans, but it's not unprecedented for rock stars to translate that interest into a business relationship. Singer Jon Bon Jovi was part of the initial ownership group of the Arena League's Philadelphia Soul when it started play in 2004.

"They are not into it in that way yet, but you never know," Herron says. "We brought them into the family and once you're in the Arena Football League, even if you don't have an official relationship, you stay in it. If nothing else, we know we have four fans in the guys in Kiss who will continue to love arena football from here on out."

Kiss
What: In concert, as part of ArenaBowl XXVI weekend in Orlando
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16
Where: Amway Center, 400 W. Church St., Orlando
Cost: $47.30-$109.05
Call: 1-800-745-3000
Online: amwaycenter.com