Lightning will strike twice in Coney Island.
The Brooklyn Bolts are back for a second season in the four-team Fall Experimental Football League at MCU Park, the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Tickets and season-ticket plans are already on sale for the team’s three home games, which start next month. The Bolts play six games total.
The Black and Gold Club package for $195 includes free parking, sideline seating and access on game day. Those ticket holders also get a buffet and soft drinks through halftime and an invitation to a meet-and-greet with players. For $55, the Lightning package gets a fan the same seat for every game and access to a meet-the-players function. Single game tickets range from $15 to $65.
Each contest this season also includes a special giveaway or theme. The Friday night home opener on Oct. 2 against the Florida Blacktips is Bolts Jersey Day for the first 1,500 fans. When the Hudson Valley Fort comes to Brooklyn on Oct. 17, there will be Oktoberfest festivities, along with post-game fireworks. The first 1,500 fans will receive a Bolts football at Halloween at the Beach Night on Oct. 30 for the team’s final home game against the Mahoning Valley Brawlers.
The franchise left quite an impression on the borough’s fans the final time it played at MCU Park last year. The Bolts, who posted an undefeated season in 2014, scored three touchdowns in 30 seconds to claim a 26–13 victory over the visiting Blacktips last November. Brooklyn’s first football team in 70 years also drew a record crowd of 1,393 fans through intermittent rain last October.
The Fall Experimental Football League mostly draws its players from a pool of interested former pros and college stars hoping to use the opportunity as a springboard to the National Football League or the Arena Football League.
Some former Brooklyn Bolts are attempting to make the jump. Offensive lineman Erle Ladson, a former star at Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx, is currently in camp with the Cleveland Browns and trying earn a spot on their final roster. Defensive backs Jordan Dangerfield and Kevin Fogg are looking to do the same with the Pittsburgh Steelers this fall.
