Titans look forward to future

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Titans conclude the home portion of their regular-season schedule Saturday night against undefeated rival Sioux Falls, and three years into the marriage of the Indoor Football League to the City of Five Seasons, all signs point to a strong partnership.

'The fact that it was new to the community, I think that was a benefit for us,” Cedar Rapids Titans co-owner/general manager Chris Kokalis said. 'A lot of times you go into markets in which they've already had a team that's come and gone. This was new for the market and I think that, to me, was something special.”

The club spent the first two years at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and ranked third in the league in attendance at 4,182 fans per game last season. The first season at the renovated U.S. Cellular Center has produced similar figures (4,100 per game, on pace for second or third in the IFL), so Kokalis hopes to broaden the club's area reach.

'We want to continue to grow our fan base,” Kokalis said. 'We've had a good impact in the C.R. community. I'd like to focus a little bit more on some of the outlying areas. We're a Cedar Rapids team, but there's a lot of great football communities in this area that we want to get more involved with our products.”

The number of IFL franchises has dropped from 25 in 2010 to nine the past two seasons. With the return of Billings (Mont.) after a three-year hiatus, the IFL has 10 teams for 2015. While Kokalis prefers a number of 12 to 16, he insists additional franchises will not come at the expense of quality, committed ownership groups.

'We want to grow smart,” Kokalis said. 'I'm confident in the direction of our league and where we're headed.”

On the field, Coach Mark Stoute took over a four-win club in 2013 and has reached the conference title game in each of his two seasons. Cedar Rapids (10-3) will travel to Sioux Falls June 21 for a berth in the United Bowl.

'For us to have someone with his talents and his abilities ... to help us grow this program,” Kokalis said. 'It's a tremendous asset.”

At halftime of Saturday's game, the club will attempt to break the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records mark of seven minutes for the longest crowd wave, set during a Brazil-Mexico soccer exhibition at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is at 7:05.

'We're fired up,” Kokalis said. 'It's a night that fans don't want to miss.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@sourcemedia.net