Nucci hoping Storm is a business success as well

As you all know, the Arena Football League knows how to put on a show. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise that yesterday's press conference introducing new owner Robert Nucci was an extravagant affair, complete with about 100 people, a head table that included league commissioner David Baker, and personalized video taped welcomes from folks like Mike Ditka and Ron Jaworski. There were a few slip-ups - on one occasion, the emcee accidentally referred to the Storm as the Buccaneers; on another, Jaworski's name was mis-spelled "Jawarski" on his video-taped welcome - but all in all it had the feel of a big-time event.

That said, the AFL has never struggled when it comes to style. It's the substance that is often the question-mark. Even at a time when the league claims franchise values are sky-rocketing and fan interest is higher than ever, most teams are still losing money and, in some cases, folding (this offseason, the Nashville Kats shut down operations while the Austin Wranglers dropped down to af2).

Enter Nucci.

The Storm has never made an impact as a viable business. In the past, former majority owner Woody Kern has estimated his losses at between $400,000 and $700,000 a season. The Storm's playoff loss to Columbus at the St. Pete Times Forum last season was its least attended game of season, at just over 10,000 people.

But Nucci seems to think he can change that. After his press conference, he told me he hasn't decided how, exactly, he is going to market the team. In the past, Kern hasn't had any involvement in that area, leaving it instead to Palace Sports and Entertainment, with whom the Storm has a marketing and lease agreement. But in a new contract signed with Palace, Nucci could be rewarded for marketing on his own. Coach/GM Tim Marcum told me after the press conference that he thinks Nucci will integrate some of the marketing for the Storm with his medical practice, the Nucci Spine Center. At the press conference, the head table was flanked by banners for the Nucci Spine Center.

How much money Nucci is willing to pour into the team remains to be seen. He obviously displayed enough financial stability to be approved unanimously by the league. His claimed in a court document last year that his net worth was around $10.1 million, but his wife's lawyer (They are going through a divorce), claims is almost three times that amount.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see how a more hands-on owner affects the team.