Fishers Freight | |
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Current season | |
Established 2023 Play in Fishers, Indiana at the Fishers Event Center | |
League/conference affiliations | |
Indoor Football League (2025–future) | |
Current uniform | |
Team colors | High Visibility Yellow, Steel Blue, and Black |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | Indiana Football Club LLC Jim Hallett |
Chairman | Jim Hallett |
General manager | Larry McQueary |
Head coach | Dixie Wooten |
Team history | |
| |
Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) | |
Division championships (0) | |
Home arena(s) | |
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The Fishers Freight are a professional indoor football team based in the Indianapolis metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Freight will began play in 2025 at the Fishers Event Center. They are owned by Jim Hallett, owner of the ECHL's Indy Fuel.
The Freight are the third arena/indoor football team to play in the Indianapolis area, following the Indiana Firebirds of the original Arena Football League (2001–2004) and the Indianapolis Enforcers of various leagues (2010–2012, 2018–2022).
In October 2023, the Indoor Football League officially announced a new expansion team for Indianapolis, Indiana to play in 2025. The team was awarded to owner Jim Hallett, owner of the East Coast Hockey League's Indy Fuel. On December 15, 2023, the team was officially named the Fishers Freight. [1] [2]
The Freight will join the Fuel and the Pro Volleyball Federation's new Indy Ignite in playing at the brand new state-of-the-art Fishers Event Center, owned by the city of Fishers. [3] [4] [5]
Fishers is a city in Fall Creek and Delaware townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 98,677. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidly in recent decades: about 350 people lived there in 1963, 2,000 in 1980, and only 7,500 as recently as 1990.
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 Corteva Coliseum is a 6,500-seat indoor multi-use arena, located on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. It was originally called the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum and later the Pepsi Coliseum,Fairgrounds Coliseum, and Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The Amarillo Dusters are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas, currently a member of the National Arena League. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.
The Coralville Chaos are a professional indoor football team based in Coralville, Iowa. They will play their home games at the Xtream Arena in Coralville starting in 2025.
The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.
Sports in Indianapolis include major league franchises, collegiate athletics, and a variety of other club and individual sporting events that have taken place in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indianapolis is the home to 11 professional sports teams. The city is also home to three National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate teams. Two teams from the four major American leagues, the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers, are located in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) started play in 2000, and are under the same ownership as the Pacers NBA team.
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 the 2024 season, the league consists of 16 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.
The Indianapolis Enforcers are a professional indoor football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. The Enforcers joined the CIFL in 2011 as an expansion team. The Enforcers were the second indoor football team to be based in Indianapolis, the first being the Indiana Firebirds of the original Arena Football League from 2001 to 2004. The founder and owner of the Enforcers is K.C. Carter. The Enforcers played their home games at The SportZone in Indianapolis after playing the 2011 season as a travel team.
The Indy Fuel are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2014–15 season. Based in Fishers, Indiana, the Fuel play their home games at the Fishers Event Center, after having started play at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. They are affiliated with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL's Rockford IceHogs.
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 West Michigan Ironmen are a professional indoor football team based in Muskegon, Michigan, the Ironmen play their home games at Trinity Health Arena. The team joined American Indoor Football (AIF) in 2016. The AIF ceased operations following the 2016 season, leaving the Ironmen without a league. They joined Champions Indoor Football for the 2017 season. For the 2018 season, the team was originally announced to have joined the Indoor Football League, however, the team was forced to sit out the 2018 Indoor Football League season. The team was then sold and played in the regional Midwest Professional Indoor Football for the 2018 season until they could rejoin the CIF in 2019. However, they were not among the list of members for the 2019 CIF season and instead joined the American Arena League. After playing in smaller leagues, the Ironmen will return to the AIF in 2025.
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 Bismarck Bucks were an indoor American football team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Bucks joined Champions Indoor Football (CIF) as an expansion team in 2016, and began play for the 2017 season. The team moved to the Indoor Football League (IFL) beginning with the 2019 season. The team played its home games at the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck. The team suspended operations in 2022; the team's owners indicated it would attempt to return in 2025 under a new brand, the Dakota Bucks, once the regulatory issues that prevented the team from playing in 2023 were resolved. The issues, as of November 2024, remain unresolved, and the IFL left the team off its 2025 schedule.
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 Bay Area Panthers are a professional indoor football team based in San Jose, California, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team was to begin play in 2020 at Oakland Arena as the Oakland Panthers. Due the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers' inaugural season was canceled, and the team withdrew from the following 2021 season. Prior to the 2022 season, the Panthers announced they would instead play their home games at SAP Center in San Jose and were renamed after the Bay Area.
The Frisco Fighters are an inactive professional indoor football team based in Frisco, Texas. A member of the Indoor Football League, the Fighters play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team was set to participate in the 2020 season, but were unable to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team will sit out the 2025 season, but plan to return for 2026.
The Vegas Knight Hawks are a professional indoor football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Knight Hawks began play in 2022 at Lee's Family Forum. The franchise is owned by Bill Foley, the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional indoor football team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Oilers began play in 2023. The team plays its home games at BOK Center. The Oilers are owned by Andy Scurto, owner of the ECHL hockey franchise of the same name.
The Fishers Event Center is an arena in Fishers, Indiana and is owned by the City of Fishers. The arena is the new home of the Indy Fuel of the ECHL.