The plans are gigantic. The International Arena League (IAL) wants to make indoor football big in Europe from Las Vegas – one of the chosen locations is Stuttgart: eight dates for the Stallions’ home games have been booked in the Schleyerhalle from April 25th. However, the announcements were now followed by a date that increased doubts about the project. Instead of a pompous presentation, there was a press conference that left more questions unanswered than it answered.
Actually, the invitation said, important managers, new players and the head coach should be introduced. Present were coach Keith Hilson (41) and content creator Benjamin Barnes (33), who will also be a Stallions player in the future – and is no stranger to Stuttgart.
Benjamin Barnes returns to Stuttgart
Barnes, who was under contract with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Frankfurt Galaxy and Rhein Fire during his career, was part of the Stuttgart Surge team in 2022 that did not win a single win in the European League of Football (ELF). Shortly before the end of the season, the club parted ways with him. Now he is returning to Stuttgart – to be more successful.
What Benjamin Barnes and Keith Hilson said sounded good. Indoor football is “pure entertainment” and a “family celebration”, the basic structure of the new league with five teams in Europe is “outstanding”. The players could “live their dream” and would also be well paid. “I earn as much in a month as I do in a year in the ELF,” said Barnes, “with us everyone can focus on their sport.” Ask? Went into the void.
Barnes: “The money comes directly from Las Vegas”
The duo didn’t know how much the budget for the Stallions project was (“The money comes directly from Las Vegas”). The management is based in the USA, and there are currently no employees in Stuttgart, not even for the acquisition of sponsors. A TV partner is still missing. The squad will consist of 25 players, including ten local talents. Seven actors have already signed, but names were not mentioned. Barnes’ attempts to lure footballers from the insolvent ELF champions Stuttgart Surge into the hall were almost unsuccessful: “I received a promise.” He didn’t want to say who it was from.
The football-playing content creator became more specific when it came to the number of fans the Stallions want for the home games in the Schleyerhalle. “There is currently no high-class football team in Stuttgart anymore,” said Benjamin Barnes, “so we are hoping for 2,000 to 3,000 people at the beginning, and we want to have the hall full at the end of the season.” Which, with ticket prices between 80 and 340 euros, is likely to be a utopian undertaking.
Still, Barnes tried to convince the skeptics. “Americans are capable of building such a construct out of the ground in a few months,” he replied when asked how serious the football plans in Stuttgart were. “A few weeks ago I would have answered differently because everything sounded too good to be true. Now I say: I am absolutely convinced of this project.”
