NAPA League Forming

zpele

zpele

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
NAPA League Question

So currently in my area the APA has a stranglehold. Using a very conservative estimate there are about 500 teams per session.

As we all know the APA has its shortcomings and being the entrepreneur type I have been looking into various leagues to see what one would be good for my area. The NAPA league seems almost too good to be true for someone looking to become a league operator.

I was wondering how big this league is and if anyone has any experience starting a new league in what I assume will be a hostile area.

It looks to me that if it turns out to have even half as many teams as the APA in my area I would be able to quit my job and use it to finance my pool career but I don't want to throw all of my eggs into one basket.
 
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Napa just started about 3 years ago. They're not near as big as the APA yet, but they are growing very quickly. I too live in a city where the APA has a stranglehold on the local pool league market. My buddy is the local NAPA league operator. He's having a hard time getting established, as most players, despite constantly complaining about the APA, want to stay in the APA instead of join NAPA. He has one 8-ball division and that's it. He says he's going to start a 9-ball division in another few weeks. You can buy a NAPA franchise at a great value, but you're probably going to have great difficulty gaining ground on an already established APA franchise in your local area. Getting established is the hardest part.

zpele said:
So currently in my area the APA has a stranglehold. Using a very conservative estimate there are about 500 teams per session.

As we all know the APA has its shortcomings and being the entrepreneur type I have been looking into various leagues to see what one would be good for my area. The NAPA league seems almost too good to be true for someone looking to become a league operator.

I was wondering how big this league is and if anyone has any experience starting a new league in what I assume will be a hostile area.

It looks to me that if it turns out to have even half as many teams as the APA in my area I would be able to quit my job and use it to finance my pool career but I don't want to throw all of my eggs into one basket.
Click to expand...
 
The NAPA league in our area offers 8B & 9B. I'm playing my second session of 9B (there's only been 2) & it's been a really fun league. They have a "call the 9B" rule to reduce the luck factor and a few unique rules that could irritate some. Nothing major, just odd ones like you can remind the player to call the 9B. That is an opportunity to "coach" your player without taking an official time-out. The lower-ranked players get a second time-out per game. You can coach all you want on the sidelines.
 
incognito said:
Napa just started about 3 years ago. They're not near as big as the APA yet, but they are growing very quickly. I too live in a city where the APA has a stranglehold on the local pool league market. My buddy is the local NAPA league operator. He's having a hard time getting established, as most players, despite constantly complaining about the APA, want to stay in the APA instead of join NAPA. He has one 8-ball division and that's it. He says he's going to start a 9-ball division in another few weeks. You can buy a NAPA franchise at a great value, but you're probably going to have great difficulty gaining ground on an already established APA franchise in your local area. Getting established is the hardest part.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.

I don't plan on making money off of it for at least 5 years and actually plan on dumping any money I get right back in by offering added tournaments to current NAPA players.

I have several other ideas in mind as well (bringing in the major pool hall owner which I know well) that should jumpstart the league.



The biggest draw I think will be the added tournaments because right now there aren't any tournaments in my area with added money to the prize pool.
 
Good luck to you. The APA needs some competition in most places to force them to provide a better quality product for its members. They have a virtual monopoly in many places. You won't make any money until you become established. The APA will probably control all of the pool rooms, as in house divisions are way more preferable than traveling divisions. Therefore, you'll probably have to start with traveling divisions at various bars in locations where the APA doesn't operate in order to get established.

zpele said:
Thanks for the response.

I don't plan on making money off of it for at least 5 years and actually plan on dumping any money I get right back in by offering added tournaments to current NAPA players.

I have several other ideas in mind as well (bringing in the major pool hall owner which I know well) that should jumpstart the league.



The biggest draw I think will be the added tournaments because right now there aren't any tournaments in my area with added money to the prize pool.
Click to expand...
 
incognito said:
Good luck to you. The APA needs some competition in most places to force them to provide a better quality product for its members. They have a virtual monopoly in many places. You won't make any money until you become established. The APA will probably control all of the pool rooms, as in house divisions are way more preferable than traveling divisions. Therefore, you'll probably have to start with traveling divisions at various bars in locations where the APA doesn't operate in order to get established.
Click to expand...

I have been kicking around the idea of bringing in the local pool room owner as a partner. This would give me a venue to have an in house league. I could also do an in house league on one of the nights that the current in house is very small or nonexistent....
 
It's probably a bad idea to bring the local pool room owner as a partner. It will cut into what little profits you are going to make when you struggle to get established. You'll make him plenty of money just by bringing in the league players to his pool room. In house is ideal but you'll probably have to do traveling divisions to get started, the places where the established league doesn't operate.
 
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