Junction City is starting a new minor league football team, the Junction City Force, just in time for the 2010 season.

Jerald Creed, general manager for the Force, said the team will play in two different leagues: the Central Plains Football League and the American Professional Football League. Since the APFL is an arena football league, Creed said none of the games in that league will be played at home.

"Since we don't have an indoor facility, all of our games will be on the road for the APFL," Creed said. "We're speaking with public affairs at Fort Riley to see if they will help us."

However, the CPFL, which includes teams like the Topeka Thunder and the Lawrence Tigers, plays on outdoor fields, so those games will occur in Junction City. The team practices at Filby Field in Junction City, but might move to Fort Riley, permitting an agreement is reached with the military.

The Force will be an outdoor football team that follows indoor rules. According to Arenafootball.com, the official Web site of arena football, teams are allowed eight men on the field, half of whom must be on the line of scrimmage.

The game has a similar time structure as the NCAA with 15-minute quarters and three timeouts per half. Ball movement and scoring also are identical with one exception: A field goal can be drop-kicked for four points.

For a fan base, the Force is trying to appeal to families. Creed said it will have events around the community as well as at the game for children.

"We're going to be doing quite a bit of activities in the neighborhoods for the kids," Creed said. "We're trying to create a family-friendly environment."

Junction City Mayor Terry Heldstab said he was looking forward to the contributions of the football teams.

"I think anything that we can have that promotes family activities will be positive for the town," Heldstab said. "I just hope that people take advantage of it."

Head coach Bob Ray said some of the players are relatively inexperienced, while some have competed at the collegiate level, including a handful of former Wildcats. According to the team's Web site on Cpflfootball.com, there already are 25 players on the roster — the maximum number for arena football — but there are still slots open for both leagues, according to the general manager.

"We can carry 54, but we can only suit up 25," Ray said. "If they're better than someone else, we'll make cuts."

Ray said the team is looking for specific positions, like offensive and defensive linemen as well as secondary receivers.

Tryouts for the team will be this Sunday at Filby Field from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"We're accepting any people that want to tryout, people that want to come out and play football," Ray said.

Since the players do not receive pay, they all have different reasons to play.

Creed said the team hopes to eventually be funded, but its players must find another incentive for now.

"One motivation is the love of the game," Creed said. "We also have some young men that are playing to hone their skills for future tryouts."

The Junction City Force's season will start in February, with games every Saturday into June.