BOSTON (AP) – Can Boston, home to the World Champion Red Sox and NFL champion New England Patriots, be an arena football town?

Two veterans of minor-league sports who are assembling the group say potential investors already have committed about $10 million of the $12 million needed to buy an Arena Football League franchise. They hope to be playing by next January in Boston.

Could former Boston College star and Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, who recently was cut by San Diego, be part of the Boston area franchise? Investors said they would love to have Flutie as part of ownership, on the field or both.

“Doug is very interested in getting involved with an arena team in Boston,” Flutie’s agent, Kristen Kuliga, told the Globe.

Flutie would be looking to be a minority owner. As for playing, Kuliga said, “Probably not, but I never put anything past Doug.”

For several years, arena football has wanted a team in Boston, the only top 10 television market without a franchise. The Kraft family, which owns the Patriots, has been approached several times, and said no. In a proposal last year, the Boston Red Sox offered to operate a team in Boston in exchange for a 20 percent interest in the franchise, according to an outline of the deal. The league rejected that offer.

Arena football has been around 19 years, and currently has 17 teams and a total average attendance of 12,000 a game, according to the league. There are plans to add three teams by next season.