Duluth Harbor Monsters | |
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Current season | |
Established 2023 Play in Duluth, Minnesota | |
League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
Team colors | Dark Blue, Light Blue, Gold, Grey |
Cheerleaders | Harbor Monsters Cheer |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | Brent LaBrie |
General manager | Steven Walters |
Head coach | Tony O'Neil |
Team history | |
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Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) | |
Division championships (0) | |
Home arena(s) | |
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The Duluth Harbor Monsters are a future Arena football team based in Duluth, Minnesota. They were announced as one of the four inaugural teams of The Arena League on April 5, 2023. [1] This is the second professional arena/indoor football team to the Duluth area, the first being the Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks of the IFL. [2] The team will play their games at the DECC Arena.
Duluth was announced as the second team on April 5, 2023, to be a part of the inaugural season of The Arena League. The announcement was made at a press conference at the Garden Event Center in Duluth and included notable figures including the city mayor, Emily Larson and the league commissioner, Tim Brown. [3]
The DECC Arena agreed to a 3-year lease to be the home field for the team. [4]
On July 27, 2023 team owner, Brent LaBrie, announced the four finalists for the team name: Sasquatch, Norsemen, Harbor Monsters, and Lakers. [5] [6] The represented city name was also narrowed down to four finalists: Twin Ports, Minnesota, Lake Superior, and Duluth.
The team name and logo was announced August 24, 2023 at a press conference held at the DECC. The team will be called the Duluth Harbor Monsters. [7]
The Duluth Harbor Monsters were named after receiving nearly 2,000 entries in a "Name-the-Team" contest, which was followed by a vote of the most popular four names for the city moniker and team name. The fan voting ended in nearly a three-way tie between Sasquatch, Norsemen, and Harbor Monsters.
Sparked by the historical Mishipeshu legend of the underwater panther, or monster, in Lake Superior, the logo features a character that is aimed to be tough and gritty like the people of the Twin Ports. The colors of blue and gold were incorporated to pay homage to the Minnesota state colors.
Ryan Foose of Foose Sports designed a series of alternate marks to accompany the primary logo including one specific for the team's helmets and another for the end zone on the field. An alternate logo also features a second call back to the city's history with a "Zenith" star.
The winner of the Name-The-Team contest was Minnesota resident, Ian Thorpe.
On December 18, 2023 the Harbor Monsters signed Ja’Vonte Johnson, the franchise's first player. [8]
The Harbor Monsters' first open tryouts were held on January 6, 2024. The team's second open tryouts were held on February 2, 2024.
Duluth Harbor Monsters roster | ||||||
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Players
| Reserve lists
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Front office
| Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
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On July 27, 2023 Kramer Sports and Entertainment was announced as the owner of the team, led by Brent LaBrie. Dan Manor, Becca Ress, and Candyce Sorensen were announced as the team operations managers. [6] LaBrie is the CEO of Hi-Tec Finishing and Kramer Service Group; his companies have sponsored NHRA drag racing, including racer Del Worsham. [9]
On October 2, 2023 Steven Walters was named as the team's general manager. [10]
Tony O'Neil was announced as the team's inaugural head coach on October 16, 2023. O'Neil previously was an assistant coach at Duluth Denfeld and also played professional arena football for three years. [11]
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. Commodities shipped from the Port of Duluth include coal, iron ore, grain, limestone, cement, salt, wood pulp, steel coil, and wind turbine components. Duluth is south of the Iron Range and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mesabi Iron Range. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Range's commercial center. The population was 8,423 people at the 2020 census. Virginia is a part of the Duluth metropolitan area, and U.S. Highway 53 runs through town.
The Georgia Force is the name of three separate versions of Arena Football League (AFL) teams based in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area of Georgia, United States, that played in the South Division of the American Conference.
WDIO-DT is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Observation Road in Duluth.
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in Duluth, Minnesota. It has been home to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog men's hockey team since 1966. The DECC is located on the waterfront near Duluth's famous Aerial Lift Bridge.
Canal Park is a tourist and recreation-oriented district of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Situated across the Interstate 35 freeway from Downtown Duluth, it is connected by the Aerial Lift Bridge across the Duluth Ship Canal to the Park Point sandbar and neighborhood. Canal Park Drive and Lake Avenue South serve as the main routes in Canal Park.
Marshall School is an independent, coeducational, day school in Duluth, Minnesota for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Marshall School is sometimes referred to as Duluth Marshall at Minnesota State High School League athletic tournaments.
KDLH is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Superior, Wisconsin–licensed dual NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR-TV, channel 6. The two stations share studios on South Lake Avenue in Canal Park, downtown Duluth; KDLH's transmitter is located west of downtown in Hilltop Park.
KBJR-TV is a television station licensed to Superior, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Duluth, Minnesota, area as an affiliate of NBC and CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CW+ affiliate KDLH. The two stations share studios on South Lake Avenue in Canal Park, downtown Duluth; KBJR-TV's transmitter is located west of downtown in Hilltop Park.
Roger Jonathon Reinert is an American politician, mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, and member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). He served in the Minnesota House from 2009 to 2011 and the Minnesota Senate from 2011 to 2017.
Saara Elisa Niemi, née Tuominen is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and current general manager and head coach of HIFK Naiset of the Naisten Liiga (NSML). At the 2006 Torino Olympics, Tuominen competed for Finland. scoring one goal and four assists. She was an alternate captain for Finland's women's ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver where the Finns won the bronze medal.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Minnesota Duluth. They were first named Bulldogs in 1933. Their colors are maroon and gold. The school competes in the NCAA's Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in all sports except ice hockey. The men's team competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, and the women's hockey program compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Both hockey conferences are Division I. They are also known for having a strong club sports program, especially in ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, rugby, alpine skiing and ice hockey.
AMSOIL Arena is a multipurpose arena in Duluth, Minnesota, home to the UMD Men's and UMD Women's hockey teams. It opened in 2010, replacing the DECC Arena on the waterfront near Duluth's landmark Aerial Lift Bridge.
The Atlanta Steam were a women's American football team of the Legends Football League (LFL) based in Duluth, Georgia, a Gwinnett County suburb of Atlanta, with home games at the Infinite Energy Arena. The Steam was the league's 14th team and played its first season in 2013.
Emily Larson is an American politician and former mayor of Duluth, Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
The Arena League is a future six-on-six indoor American football league in the United States. The league intends to launch in 2024 with four teams.
The Ozarks Lunkers are a professional indoor football team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are currently members of The Arena League (TAL). They will play their home games at Wilson Logistics Arena, a multipurpose arena built next to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.
The 2024 TAL season is the upcoming inaugural season of The Arena League (TAL). The regular season is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2024, with the regular season ending on July 27, 2024.
The Iowa Woo are a professional indoor football team based in Waterloo, Iowa. They are currently members of The Arena League (TAL). They will play their home games at The Hippodrome at the National Cattle Congress.
Antonio Mauricio O'Neil is an American football coach. He is currently an assistant coach at Denfeld High School and will be the inaugural head coach of the Duluth Harbor Monsters in The Arena League (TAL), which are to begin in 2024. O'Neil is also a former arena football player.