Motley Crue’s Vince Neil Buys Arena Football League Team
Move over, Kiss. Motley Crue is getting into the game, too. Frontman Vince Neil has joined an investment group to buy the Jacksonville Sharks, and plans to move the Arena Football League team to his hometown of Las Vegas.
Neil tells the Las Vegas Sun: "“I sense the city would love it. I know that I will because it’s on my home turf."
Las Vegas last had a pro football team between 2009–12, when the Locomotives played in all three of the United Football League title games -- winning two -- before the league folded. Another team, the Las Vegas Outlaws were part of the XFL, an attempt by World Wrestling Entertainment to break into football. The league folded after its inaugural season in 2001.
The far more stable Arena Football League, on the other hand, was founded back in 1987. "It’s a great action sport growing in popularity with every game," says Neil, who hopes to move the club within two years. "There are some incredible players. I love the game. It will be perfect to have an AFL team in Las Vegas."
Kiss recently brought pro football back to Los Angeles as part-owners of the AFL league's LA Kiss, who opened their first season in March. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi also had a stake in the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul from 2004–2008, a period that included one championship. He's now reportedly in talks to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills.