By Ryan Ernst
The Cincinnati Enquirer

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Cincinnati's newest sports franchise introduced itself to the city yesterday, revealing the organization's new coach, team name and logo.

The Cincinnati Swarm, who will compete in arenafootball2, will be led by coach Chris MacKeown. Team owner Mark Hamister introduced the Dayton native at a press conference at U.S. Bank Arena.

"(MacKeown's) No. 1 objective here in Cincinnati is to win a championship for the city of Cincinnati," Hamister said. "Second: to assist his players to advance to the next level. Third: to play classy but exciting football for the fans of Cincinnati. And fourth: his personal and team commitment to this community."

The team's commitment to the community will be immediately evident in its tryout process. League rules state 60 percent of a team's roster must come from within 100 miles of the city.

"Knowing this area, there's a ton of local talent and good universities that produce talent," MacKeown, who was an assistant with the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League, said. "Most of our roster will be local guys."

All players will earn $200 per game, plus a $50 bonus for winning. But according to McKeown, players are compensated in other ways.

"This is a league of opportunity. Guys aren't going to get rich playing in this league," he said. "But there have been seven or eight guys to go on and stick on NFL rosters."

Before moving on to the NFL, however, Swarm players will have to stop in Buffalo, where Hamister also owns the Destroyers, an AFL team.

"This is basically Buffalo's 'Triple A affiliate,'" Hamister said. "But the difference is, we also own it. So we take a personal and direct interest in making sure its run well."

McKeown said he expects to hold two sessions of open tryouts in January and February. The 2002 season begins in April.

E-mail: rernst@enquirer.com