PITTSBURGH — Butler is one of 10 markets in the tri-state area being sought to house a National Minor Pro Football League franchise.

Tom Averell, commissioner of the previous pro football minor league in the area — a 15-year league that folded in 2002 — is looking to bring back a more streamlined circuit.

"I've put plenty of research into this," Averell said. "Cost of traveling kills everybody in minor league pro sports. That's why this is going to be a bus-type league.

"Travel has to be minimal and the host towns need to have enough football fans to make it work."

The Pittsburgh Colts played in the previous league. Another Pittsburgh team, known as the Ironmen, will play in this one.

"We're hoping to get South Stadium, but those talks are still in the works," Averell said.

Other markets being targeted for franchises are Charleston and Wheeling (W.Va.), Steubenville, Youngstown, Canton, Massillon and Cleveland (Ohio), Erie and Butler.

Averell hopes to form ownership groups in at least six of those 10 communities and debut the league with a 10-game schedule running from April to July.

He wants the league to begin play in the spring of 2010.

"I put out inquiries last year and received 12 responses from interested owners, buit they were sports-minded, not business-minded people," Averell said.

"Developing a business is the first and most important step in forming a new league. A firm business plan has to be in place before a franchise can start hiring coaches and players."

The league's championship ganme will be known as the American Bowl.

Averell said the debuting United Football League — scheduled to begin a six-game season with four franchises in October — will likely fail.

"They have some NFL names attached, but those four teams are far apart geographically and they're going up against the NFL on Thursday nights," he said.

"We're playing in the spring and summer to avoid conflict with high school, college and NFL football."

The purpose of the league is to "somewhat replace NFL Europe and the Arena League in developing talent and providing opportunity for players," Averell added.

NFL Europe and the Arena Football League both died within the past two years.

Averell had explored the possibility of bring an Arena League team to Pittsburgh two years ago.

"It cost $50,000 to rent Mellon Arena and $22 million to join the AFL," he said. "You just can't make that work.

"I'm talking about 32 players per team, players receiving $350 or so per game. We're looking for players who can play more than one position.

"A guy may be a great quarterback in our league, but wouldn't be more than a special teams guy in the NFL. He needs to be able to show his abilities in that area, too," Averell added.

The 10 potential markets for this new minor league were selected based on attendance at high school games and the pool of available players in the region.

"Butler gets 4,000 to 6,000 fans at a high school game," Averell said. "Seneca Valley, Mars, Pine-Richland, they all draw well. And you've got Slippery Rock, Westminster, Allegheny playing college ball around there.

"We have bigger schools like Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia and Ohio State to draw players from, too."

Once ownership groups are formed, season ticket sales and team sponsorships will be aggressively pursued, Averell said.

"There's definitely a market for this league," he said. "We just need to find owners and get to work."

Two former Pittsburgh Steelers, a former Chicago Bear and an ex-NFL coach are joining Averell in this venture. He said he can't reveal names "because I don't have their permission yet."

Any interested potential franchise owner may call Averell at 412-327-8586.