The AF2 was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at the Spectrum Center.
Spectrum Center is an indoor arena located in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The arena seats 19,077 for NBA games but can be expanded to 20,200 for college basketball games.
Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles Coliseum, which was called Charlotte Coliseum prior to 1988, the Charlotte Convention Center, and Ovens Auditorium. It was the home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 2002, and the Charlotte Bobcats, the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets, from 2004 to 2005.
The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and then again in 1996 and the Independence Arena in 1995. They were owned by Allen J. Schwalb, Joanne Faruggia and former National Football League and United States Football League quarterback Cliff Stoudt.
The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike.
The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful seasons in Houston at the Sam Houston Coliseum.
The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center. They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which also oversees nearby Ovens Auditorium and the uptown Charlotte Convention Center. The naming-rights sponsor is the Bojangles restaurant chain. The building's signature domed roof is made of tin, rather than steel or iron. The dome spans 332 feet in diameter and rises to 112 feet tall.
The Charlotte Hornets were an American minor-league baseball franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club was founded in 1901 and lasted in some form until 1973, capturing 11 league titles during its history. From 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1972, the Hornets were a farm system affiliate of the original Washington Senators franchise and its post-1960 successor, the Minnesota Twins. The 1931 and 1951 Hornets have been recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor-league teams of all time.
Desmond Kevin Armstrong is an American former soccer defender and midfielder, who was a member of the United States national team from 1987 to 1994. He played three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, part of one in the Brazilian First Division, two in the American Professional Soccer League and two in USISL.
Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.
Sports in Charlotte, North Carolina have a long and varied history. The city is home to teams at nearly every level of American sports including the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association. In addition to serving as the home base for several teams the city plays host to many events of national and international importance including the longest race in NASCAR, the annual Coca-Cola 600 and golf's Wells Fargo Championship.
The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), originally known as the National Indoor Soccer League, was a professional indoor soccer league which began play in 2008. It was the third league to be known as the Major Indoor Soccer League after the MISL I and MISL II. The MISL name is arguably the most recognizable name in indoor soccer due to its history dating back to 1978. The league name and assets are currently owned by the United Soccer Leagues. The departure of six teams which joined the Professional Arena Soccer League after the 2013–14 season effectively ended the MISL.
Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and caused extensive damage to the New Orleans Arena. As a result, the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s New Orleans Hornets were unable to play any home games at the Arena for both the entire 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to become the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. After playing the majority of home games for both the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, the Hornets returned to New Orleans for the 2007–08 season.
The Omaha Vipers were a professional indoor soccer team that began play in the MISL in the 2010–11 season. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Vipers played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Following their inaugural season, the Vipers had planned moving from Major Indoor Soccer League to the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2011–12 season and paid the league's $25,000 franchise fee, but the team folded in October 2011 when they were unable to secure an arena for the upcoming season.
The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the eleventh Development League team to be owned by an NBA team when it was announced in 2015.
The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL only claimed the APF history after the former Can-Am founder left the league. Teams from both leagues, new teams, and later teams from Supreme Indoor Football and National Arena League constituted the new league for its inaugural season. Since 2023, the league has operated as American Arena League 2 (AAL2), which was originally conceived as the AAL's minor league but has since effectively taken its parent league's place.
The Charlotte Thunder were a professional indoor American football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and played their home games at the Bojangles' Coliseum.
Brad Agoos is an American former soccer player and the current head coach of USL League Two side Black Rock.
