DENVER -- Three years after retiring from the NFL, John Elway has found something to satisfy his competitive urges: arena football.

Elway announced the creation of an expansion Arena Football League team for the Denver area at a news conference Wednesday. The former Denver Broncos quarterback will co-own the team with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Kroenke Sports, which owns the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the NBA's Denver Nuggets.

"I've been kind of chasing the wind for a couple years and I'm excited about having my focus back on football,'' said Elway, who retired in 1999 after winning consecutive Super Bowl titles.

Elway said the new team will likely carry the Colorado name instead of Denver, and that the team nickname will come through from a contest in Denver's two largest newspapers.

The team will begin play in February 2003 and will share the Pepsi Center with the Avalanche and Nuggets. Elway said he hopes to have a coach in the next few weeks and that he will serve as president and chief executive of the team.

"I will be involved with the football side,'' Elway said. "I'll be involved as far as personnel, not so much the day-to-day coaching. I'll be at a bunch of practices, but be more involved on the personnel side than Xs and Os. Once we start selling some tickets and corporate sponsorships, that's when I'll give more thought to the football side.''

Colorado is one of seven expansion teams that have been approved for play over the next three years. Those include teams in New Orleans, Jacksonville, Nashville, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington.

Starting in 2003, the 18-team AFL will play a 16-game season from February to June.

AFL commissioner David Baker said a franchise in Denver headed up by Elway was a perfect match for the league.

"When we look for a successful franchise, we look for a club that's going to have a great football area,'' Baker said. "Clearly, because of the Broncos and the outstanding college football that you have here in Colorado, Colorado is a great football state. We also look for great ownership, and I couldn't imagine a better ownership group than we have here today.''

The AFL has already failed once in Denver and the area is loaded with professional and college sports, but Elway believes fans will take to its fast-paced style.

"The Broncos have been sold out for almost 30 years and a lot of people don't get to go to the games,'' Elway said. "I think there's still a lot of fans out there that would like that opportunity. We believe there are a heck of a lot more fans out there than the 76,000 that can fit into Mile High.''

Elway said he has looked at starting up an AFL team for over a year, but NBC's decision to broadcast 15 regular-season games next season sealed his decision.

"The thing that got us over the hump was the fact that NBC came aboard and is going to be a partner for at least two years and get the Arena League the exposure it needs,'' Elway said. "We knew the game had been underexposed. It's a fast-past game with a lot scoring. Having kids myself, I know you have to keep them entertained all the time. That's exactly what arena football does.''