ANAHEIM: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band Kiss put down their instruments, wiped away the face paint and unveiled their own arena football franchise on Monday, promising to pair the niche sport with the pyrotechnic theater of their concerts.

Seated outside the Honda Center arena in Anaheim, California, the two sixty-somethings stayed true to their trademark self assurance and bravado in their plan to turn an indoor version of American football played on a smaller field with a heavy emphasis on high scores into a top entertainment draw in Southern California.