Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, and features between six and eight players for each team playing at any given time depending on the league, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game that can be played on the floors of indoor arenas. The sport was invented in 1981, and patented in 1987, by Jim Foster, a former executive of the National Football League and the United States Football League. The name is trademarked by Gridiron Enterprises and had a proprietary format until its patent expired in 2007.
The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current name of the Bandits. The Bandits play their home games at the Tyson Events Center.
Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by the City and County of Denver, operated by its Denver Arts & Venues and located in Denver, Colorado. The arena has a capacity of 10,200 people and was built from 1949 to 1951. The coliseum is located in Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. It sits where the Denver Pacific Railway broke ground on its Cheyenne line in 1868.
The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia, and are a member of the National Arena League (NAL).
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Denver Dynamite were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. The team began play in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League. The team was brought in by businessman Sidney Shlenker and the team achieved success instantly, winning the first ever ArenaBowl under future AFL Hall of Fame coach Tim Marcum. After sitting out the 1988 season, the Dynamite were purchased by investment banker Gary Graham for $125,000. Graham then hired former NFL and AFL coach Babe Parilli to lead the team. Under Parilli, the Dynamite would return to the playoffs every season, but failed to return to the ArenaBowl. After the 1991 season, the franchise was sued by their public relations firm and filed for bankruptcy. They played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. The team's logo was a bundle of dynamite sticks with a burning fuse.
Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from the Indoor Football League and two expansion teams.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams.
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 West Virginia Roughriders were a professional indoor football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They were founded in 2016 as the Richmond Roughriders and played at the Richmond Coliseum in 2017 and 2018.
The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at Tsongas Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena League (NAL).
The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
The American West Football Conference (AWFC) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen. The league's inaugural season was in 2019.
The Oklahoma Flying Aces are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and members of the National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 2018 as an expansion franchise in Champions Indoor Football for the 2019 season. The team was dormant for the 2021 season, but did not return for the 2022 season. The Flying Aces joined the National Arena League for the 2024 season but became dormant before the season was completed.
The West Texas Desert Hawks were a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks were based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team played their first several seasons as the West Texas Warbirds.
The Topeka Tropics were a professional indoor football based in Topeka, Kansas, and played their home games at the Stormont Vail Events Center. The team originally folded after its inaugural 2022 season, but was renewed under new ownership before the 2023 season. The Tropics a were the third indoor football team to be based in Topeka following the Topeka Knights/Kings (1999–2000) and the Kansas Koyotes (2003–2014).
The San Antonio Gunslingers are a professional indoor football team based in San Antonio, Texas, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at Freeman Coliseum. They share their name with the original USFL's team of the same name that played from 1984 to 1985.
The 2023 National Arena League season was the sixth season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league started the season with seven teams following the additions of the expansion team, the Fayetteville Mustangs, and the West Texas Warbirds joining from the Arena Football Association, while the Columbus Lions left the league following the previous season.
The 2024 National Arena League season was the seventh season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league will include six teams, five of which are new, with only the Carolina Cobras returning from the previous season.
The Shreveport Rouxgaroux are a professional indoor football team of the National Arena League scheduled to begin play for its 2025 season. Based in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Rouxgaroux will play their home games at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum.
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