Arena Football Redux

A new arena football league is rising from the ashes of the old and is scheduled to begin play in 2010.

Arena Football One completed the purchase Dec. 18 of assets from the Arena Football League, which folded last year in a bankruptcy court-mandated auction. AF1 can now use the team names, trademarks and logos of the former league.

The new league is to debut in April in 15 cities, including seven that hosted teams in the AFL’s previous incarnation.

One ownership group, Chicago Gridiron LLC, said it intends to adopt the Chicago Rush for its team. The managing partner of the franchise is William Niro, a founding member of the original AFL.