History
On June 19, 2006, the AIFA announced that Danville would get a team to play at the Palmer Arena. Commissioner Andrew Haines owned the team (like most others) until a suitable owner could be found. Local radio station WDAN held a name-the-team contest, with 95% of the entries beginning with the letter "D".
On August 16 the team announced their name, the Danville Demolition, as well as their new owner, South Bend, Indiana businessman John Christner, as well as a head coach, B.J. Luke (replaced midseason by Willie Davis). The winning name was submitted by Michael Burmeister of Racine, Wisconsin.
The team struggled on and off the field, with only one win (against the Erie Freeze at home on March 29) Demolition owner, John Christner decided to shut down the Danville franchise due to dwindling attendance and sponsorship. Christner still owns the AIFA franchise and hopes to locate the franchise somewhere in the midwest.
The Ultimate Indoor Football League has selected Danville as an expansion site for the 2012 season.
The Fayetteville Guard was a professional indoor football team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum from 2005 to 2010.
The Wyoming Cavalry were an American professional indoor football team based in Casper, Wyoming. They were most recently members of the Intense Conference in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Cavalry began play in 2000 as an expansion member of the original Indoor Football League as the Casper Cavalry. The Cavalry became a charter member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2001 following the original IFL's purchase by the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators. The move in 2001 also brought a franchise name change to the current Wyoming Cavalry. The team then joined the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) in 2008 after the NIFL's demise. With the AIFA's presence in the Western United States dwindling, the Cavalry joined the IFL in 2011. In September, 2014, majority owner Mitch Zimmerman announced that the team would cease operations.
The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper documentation to remain in the AFL and the entire roster was reassigned to other teams in the league.
American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The Erie Freeze was an American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football League. The team was originally going to be named the Reading RiverRats, but passed on that name in favor of the "Reading Express." The RiverRats name and logo was moved to an AIFA team in Pittsburgh in 2007. The owners of the Express were Ted & Lisa Lavender. They played their home games at the Sovereign Center.
The New Jersey Revolution were members of the American Indoor Football Association based in Morristown, New Jersey, with home games at the George Mennen arena. The Revolution name referred to New Jersey's nickname, The Crossroads of the Revolution, as the state was the site of many American Revolution battles. It was the only indoor football team within the proximity of the New York metropolitan area in the 2010 season.
The Huntington Heroes were a professional indoor football franchise and member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The Heroes played their home games during their inaugural 2006 season at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse in Huntington, West Virginia, before moving to the larger Big Sandy Superstore Arena for the 2007 and 2009 seasons. The Heroes were the second indoor football franchise for Huntington, following the River Cities LocoMotives, who played one season (2001) in the National Indoor Football League, and were followed by the Huntington Hammer in 2011. The Heroes were usually known for featuring many former Marshall University football players from the Marshall Thundering Herd program located in Huntington.
The Carolina Speed were a professional indoor football team that operated from 2007 to 2011 in Concord and Charlotte, North Carolina, at Bojangles' Coliseum in 2009 and 2011. From 2007 to 2009, the Speed were members of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). For the 2011 season, the Speed joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) and the team ceased operations after the season. The owner was Eddie Littlefield.
The David S. Palmer Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Danville, Illinois, that has a seating capacity of 4,750 for concerts and 2,350 for sports. It was built in 1980. Palmer Arena is the home for the Eastern Illinois University ice hockey club. Along with team sports, the David S. Palmer has open ice skating and hosts concerts from time to time and U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program. The arena hosted the Vermilion County Bobcats of the Southern Professional Hockey League in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons.
The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.
The World Indoor Football League (WIFL) was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League. The league was a splinter league that formed after disgruntled ownership in the AIFL, caused significant turmoil and resulted in several teams leaving the league.
The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia and are a member of the American Indoor Football Alliance. The were a founding member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. The Lions were founded in 2006 as an expansion team of the World Indoor Football League (WIFL). After the WIFL went under in 2007, the Lions joined the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) where they played for two seasons. When the AIFA broke apart, the Lions joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). The Lions joined the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2012 when the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) teams split up into two new leagues. After the 2015 season, the PIFL broke apart, and the Lions joined American Indoor Football for 2016.
The Baltimore Mariners were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The team was a member of American Indoor Football. The team was founded when the American Indoor Football Association expelled the Baltimore Blackbirds for negotiating with another league. The AIFA maintained the lease rights to 1st Mariner Arena, so the Mariners were the league's replacement. On September 3, 2010, team owner Dwayne Wells was arrested on charges of wire fraud from an engineering firm he partially owned, allegedly using embezzled money from the firm to buy stakes in the Mariners franchise. Wells forfeited his ownership of the team, causing the Mariners to fold after the 2010 season. The Southern Indoor Football League, as successor to the eastern half of the AIFA, held the lease on the arena, now called Baltimore Arena, until it folded in 2011. The Mariners, after three seasons out of play, returned for one final season in 2014, winning the league championship before folding again. The Mariners have since been succeeded by the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League in 2017.
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams among indoor football leagues. As of 2023 season, the league consists of 14 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.
The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Don Kirnan is the league's commissioner. The league also occasionally branded itself as the Federal Professional Hockey League from 2015 to 2018 until it began using the name Federal Prospects Hockey League and completing the rebrand in 2019.
The Trenton Steel was a professional indoor football team that began play in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) in the 2011 season. The team suspended operations December 27, 2011. The Steel were based in Trenton, New Jersey, with home games played at the Sun National Bank Center.
The 2007 Pittsburgh RiverRats season was the 1st season for the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) franchise. The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, playing that season's home games at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania. The "RiverRats" name and logo were originally supposed to be used by the Reading Express, but that team chose the Express branding instead, freeing it up for use by another American Indoor Football League (AIFL) team. In August 2006, more arguments came about the RiverRats name as a team in the Eastern Indoor Football League, called the 3 River Rats, had intentions of suing the RiverRats to retain the naming rights of the team.
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.
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) is a minor-professional American indoor football league based in the United States.
