Barring an unexpected development, a professional football franchise is coming to the city this spring. Officials have tentatively scheduled a news conference for Jan. 22 at a site to be determined to announce that the Arena Football League will place an expansion franchise at Boardwalk Hall that will begin its inaugural season in April.
“To put it in football parlance, we’ve driven 99 yards and we’re first-and-goal from the 1-yard line,” Ron Jaworski, chairman of the AFL’s executive committee, said late Wednesday in a phone interview. “It’s going to happen, and I’m absolutely thrilled. The people of Atlantic City and South Jersey deserve it.