Louisiana VooDoo

Last updated
Louisiana VooDoo
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
Established 2023
Play in Blackham Coliseum
in Lafayette, Louisiana
VooDooAFL.com
Louisiana VooDoo.png
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsPurple, red, black, green, yellow, tan
      
CheerleadersVooDoo Dolls
Personnel
Owner(s)TBA
Head coachJames Shiver
Team history
  • Louisiana VooDoo (2024–future)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

The Louisiana VooDoo are a professional arena football team based in Lafayette, Louisiana. They are currently inactive members of the revived Arena Football League whose inaugural season in 2024 was cut short due to financial issues with the league under the league's previous administration and were left out of the remaining season as a result. This VooDoo franchise is named after, but otherwise unrelated to, the New Orleans VooDoo of the original AFL.

Contents

VooDoo History

New Orleans (2004-2008, 2011-2015)

The VooDoo name is traced back to the original New Orleans VooDoo that was founded in 2002 as an expansion team in the original Arena Football League by New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson. They were the second official team to play in New Orleans after the New Orleans Night, who played at the Louisiana Superdome in 1991 and 1992. The VooDoo had moderate success under Benson before originally folding in 2008. A second New Orleans VooDoo franchise began as the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in af2 in 2000 and would join the reconfigured AFL in 2010 before then-owner Dan Newman acquired the rights to the VooDoo name, logo and colors. The second VooDoo did not fare any better and would be taken over by the AFL under then-commissioner Scott Butera in 2015 due to ongoing finanical issues within the league and poor attendance at the Smoothie King Center. The team would fold at season's end when a new owner or ownership group could not be found. [1] [2] [3] [4] The original team trademarks (name, logo, colors and identity) are now the property of the current AFL's owners, G6 Sports Group.

Louisiana VooDoo (2024-future)

In an interview with ArenaFan.com, published in February 2023, then-AFL commissioner Lee A. Hutton III said that there have been discussions with potential ownership groups in New Orleans to relaunch the VooDoo when the league resumes play in 2024. Louisiana was among the regions named by Hutton in a July 2023 announcement of the league's inaugural locations. After Bossier City ruled itself out due to schedule conflicts, [5] contemporary reports indicated that the league was aiming to instead put the team in Lake Charles, Louisiana. [6] Bossier City was another location considered for the Louisiana team, but their home arena had too many schedule conflicts to accommodate a team in the 2024 season. [7] The new team, which retained the VooDoo name (as the Louisiana VooDoo), was unveiled on November 3, 2023. [8] [9] Though, this version is not directly tied to the original New Orleans VooDoo. Their head coach is James Shiver, a longtime coach in the area.

The VooDoo were to have played in Lake Charles, but relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana and would play at Blackham Coliseum instead. Reasoning for the last minute switch was the lack of communication between the team and the management of the arena, though the arena countered that the VooDoo was delinquent on rent and had failed to show proof of any insurance. [10] The league would pay for insurance and rent for the VooDoo's lone game at Blackham. [11] Billings Outlaws owner and ardent league critic Steve Titus indicated the VooDoo were among several league-controlled teams that were shut down after Week 2, [12] The University of Louisiana at Lafayette indicated plans to hold the Minnesota Myth, the legal entity that effectively owned the VooDoo, liable for rent for the four remaining games the VooDoo never played. [11] The team is "on pause" and looking to rejoin the league in 2025.

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References

  1. ↑ Adam Markowitz (July 12, 2015). "AFL assumes control of Outlaws, VooDoo, announcement expected this week". www.ArenaFan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ Will Guillory (July 14, 2015). "Arena Football League taking over VooDoo operations". www.theadvocate.com. The Advocate. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  3. ↑ Christopher Dabe (August 9, 2015). "With no ownership in place, New Orleans VooDoo cease operations, league announces". www.nola.com. NOLA.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  4. ↑ Christopher Dabe (August 10, 2015). "New Orleans VooDoo could continue with new ownership, league commissioner says". www.nola.com. NOLA.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  5. ↑ Lowe, Megan (July 25, 2023). "Bossier City on Arena Football League radar". Shreveport-Bossier Journal. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ Manning, Johnathan (2023-07-19). "Lake Charles officials address rumors of Arena Football League team". KPLC-TV . Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  7. ↑ Lowe, Megan (2023-07-25). "Bossier City on Arena Football League radar". Shreveport-Bossier Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  8. ↑ "AFL announces Voodoo football team coming to Lake Charles". KALB. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  9. ↑ "Voodoo arena football team coming to Lake Charles". KPLC. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  10. ↑ Faust, George (2024-04-18). "Arena Football's Louisiana Voodoo moving to Lafayette from Lake Charles". KLFY. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  11. 1 2 McLendon, Natalie (2024-05-20). "UL-Lafayette owed more than $30,000 after Arena Football League team folds". Louisiana Illuminator. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  12. ↑ Letasky, John (2024-05-11). "While on the field warming up, Billings Outlaws find out game at Rapid City is canceled". 406 MT SPORTS. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
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