The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
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.
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators.
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The franchise was one of the original four that launched the Arena Football League for its inaugural season in 1987. The club was relocated to the Tampa Bay area for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December 2017.
The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014.
Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names.
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.
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serves as a secondary arena for Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball.
Sherdrick Deon "Sed" Bonner is an American former professional football quarterback who played fifteen seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL).
Yost Ice Arena, formerly the Fielding H. Yost Field House, is an indoor ice hockey arena located on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It is the home of the Michigan men's ice hockey team.
The P1FCU Kibbie Dome, known simply as the Kibbie Dome and formerly named the Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center, is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho Vandals of the Big Sky Conference for four sports. Basketball was played in the venue until the autumn 2021 opening of the adjacent Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.
Remy Martin Hamilton is a former American football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). In college, he was an All-American for the Michigan Wolverines football team. As a professional, he played for the Detroit Lions of the NFL in addition to exhibition and training camp experience with the Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. He also played for the Grand Rapids Rampage, Carolina Cobras, Milwaukee Mustangs, Los Angeles Avengers, and Dallas Desperados of the AFL. In the AFL, he holds records for all-time career points and single-season kick points.
James Robert Douglas Bironas was an American professional football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Georgia Southern University.
Darren Arbet is a former Arena Football League (AFL) head coach for the San Jose SaberCats and most recently served as the general manager and head coach for the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He has a career record of 169–73, including four titles, ArenaBowl XVI, ArenaBowl XVIII, ArenaBowl XXI, and ArenaBowl XXVIII.
Carlos Antonio Huerta is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in three different professional leagues. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. Drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the twelfth round of the 1992 NFL draft, he played in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL) and Arena Football League (AFL).
The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25. The league broke its regular-season total attendance record of 1,887,054.
Jay Michael Gruden is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars. During his time in the Arena Football League (AFL), he won four ArenaBowls as a player and two more as a head coach. Gruden is the younger brother of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and was an assistant coach of the 2002 Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.
Sylvester Bembery is a former American football lineman in the Arena Football League (AFL). Bembery, #78, was an offensive and defensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Storm from 1994–99, and once again joined the Storm for the 2001 campaign.
