Paging Steve Young

I got a call this summer from the CEO of yet another start-up football league: the United States Football League.
Yup, same name as the old USF, same one Steve Young and Herschel Walker starred in.
But this one, says CEO Michael Dwyer, is destined to work.
Why he was calling a sports columnist was a mystery to me. He said he wanted to get a feel for having a team in Salt Lake. I mentioned there were a couple of problems. First, the USFL season — which lasts February to June –coincides in part with the Utah Blaze, Real Salt Lake, Salt Lake Bees, NCAA basketball and, most of all, Utah Jazz seasons.
That’s a tough sale.
Dwyer seemed more concerned about a venue. He was looking at Rice-Eccles Stadium and asked if I had any other ideas for stadiums that could hold 20,000 or 25,000 fans. Not in the Salt Lake Valley, I told him. And nobody from Salt Lake would drive to Edwards Stadium in Provo to see his team.
Another issue was allowing alcohol sales at stadiums. He seemed to feel that was a big issue.
His plan is for a 12-16 team league. Franchises have already been approved in L.A., Las Vegas, San Jose, Orlando and Baton Rouge. Play is to begin in 2010.
With soccer, basketball, baseball and, yes, AFL football already in Salt Lake in the spring and early summer, is there really a demand for more football in the market?