Oregon High Desert Storm

Last updated
Oregon High Desert Storm
Established 2020;4 years ago (2020)
Folded 2023
Played in Redmond, Oregon
at First Interstate Bank Center
Oregon High Desert Storm.png
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, sand, silver, white
    
Nicknames High Desert Storm
Personnel
Owner(s)Platinum Events & Security, LLC
PresidentChris Reynolds
Head coachKeith Evans
Team history
  • Oregon High Desert Storm (2021–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
  • 2021, 2023
Home arena(s)
First Interstate Bank Center (2021–present)

The Oregon High Desert Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Redmond, Oregon, that began playing football in 2021 with home games at the First Interstate Bank Center at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds. It was the first team to play in Central Oregon. They were owned by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, owners of the American West Football Conference.

Contents

History

On October 15, 2018, the American West Football Conference (AWFC) was founded by the Idaho Horsemen and added the Skyhawks, Reno Express, and Tri-Cities Fire to create the league. [1] [2]

The AWFC postponed the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic [3] and then cancelled the season entirely due to the unavailability of arenas during the pandemic. [4] The AWFC played the 2021 season, adding two teams in the Oregon High Desert Storm and Tri-City Rush, but the Skyhawks were unable to play any home games due to their home arena, the Town Toyota Center, being used for as a pandemic relief center and vaccination site. [5] The Storm began play in 2021 at the First Interstate Bank Center at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond.

In 2023, the Storm made it to American West Bowl IV to face the Idaho Horsemen after they defeated the Skyhawks 44–40 in the semi-final. However, they lost the championship to the Horsemen 42–20. [6] Shortly afterward, the team's website and social disappeared, leading many to believe that they have folded.

Oregon would get the indoor game back with the launching of the Oregon Blackbears of the revived Arena Football League for 2024 and beyond.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hec Edmundson Pavilion</span> Indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States

Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion is an indoor arena in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It serves as home to several of the university's sports teams, known as the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12 Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Idaho Center</span>

The Ford Idaho Center is a complex of sports and entertainment venues in Nampa, Idaho, approximately 15 miles (24 km) west of Boise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima SunDome</span> Arena in Yakima, Washington, US

The Yakima Valley SunDome is a 6,195-seat multi-purpose arena in Yakima, Washington, United States. Located on the Central Washington State Fairgrounds, it hosts sporting events, ice shows, horse shows, circuses, boxing and concerts, as well as trade shows and conventions. The stadium opened on January 16, 1990, and cost $14.8 million to construct. The building was designed by architecture firm Loofburrow & Associates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux Falls Storm</span> Indoor American football team

The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for the 2000 season. They currently participate in another iteration of the Indoor Football League; prior to that, the Storm were in United Indoor Football (UIF), where they won all four of the league's championship games. In the newer IFL, the Storm have won seven of the eleven championships in the league as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Horsemen</span> American indoor football team

The Kentucky Horsemen was an indoor football team based in Lexington, Kentucky. The team played its home games at Rupp Arena. The organization began as a 2003 expansion member of the National Indoor Football League, where they were successful. Following the 2004 season, where they defeated the Sioux Falls Storm to win Indoor Bowl IV, the Horsemen and other NIFL teams joined the new United Indoor Football (UIF) as a charter member, where they made the playoffs. They lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. They made the playoffs again in 2006 and advanced to United Bowl II where they lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. From 2008 to 2009, the Horsemen played in the AF2. The team announced intentions to compete in the new Arena Football League following the dissolution of the AF2, but instead ceased operations in October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoor Football League</span> Indoor American football league founded in 2008

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 2023 season, the league consists of 14 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.

First Interstate Bank Center is a 4,000-permanent seat indoor arena located in Redmond, Oregon, as part of the Deschutes County Expo Center. It is named for a regional bank which purchased naming rights to the arena's name. Originally, it was called the Bank of the Cascades Center, but that bank's acquisition by First Interstate BancSystem caused the change to the current name. Other seating capacities include 5,000 for basketball and up to 7,800 for concerts. It can also accommodate volleyball, motorsports, wrestling, indoor football, conventions and trade shows. There is over 40,000 square feet of space on the arena floor with an additional 28,250 square feet on the arena concourse. Concession stands are placed on each end of the arena and ticket booths are located on each entrance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champions Indoor Football</span> Indoor American football league

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 IFL National Championship is the Indoor Football League's championship game. It has been played every year since 2009, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current champions are the Bay Area Panthers, who won their first IFL National Championship in 2023, their second season in the league. The Sioux Falls Storm won six straight United Bowls from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Arena League</span> American indoor football league

The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. For the upcoming 2024 season, the league consists of eight teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad City Steamwheelers (2018–)</span> American indoor football team

The Quad City Steamwheelers are an indoor American football team that began play in 2018. They played their first season as part of the Champions Indoor Football, and then joined the Indoor Football League prior to their second season. Based in Moline, Illinois, the Steamwheelers play their home games at the Vibrant Arena at The MARK. The team announced it would be dormant for the 2021 season due to the arena capacity restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peach State Cats</span>

The Peach State Cats are a professional indoor football team based in Suwanee, Georgia. They originally announced to play home games at Dalton Convention Center in Dalton, Georgia, for the 2018 season but were eventually made a travel-only team. They moved to Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, the following season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho Horsemen</span> American indoor football team

The Idaho Horsemen are a professional indoor football team based out of Nampa, Idaho, with home games at the Ford Idaho Center. They are owned by Chris Reynolds from Platinum Events & Security LLC. In 2019, the team owners founded the American West Football Conference. They joined the National Arena League before the 2024 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American West Football Conference</span> American football minor league

The American West Football Conference (AWFC) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen. The league's inaugural season was in 2019.

The Reno Express were a professional indoor football team in Reno, Nevada. They play their home games at the Reno Events Center during the 2019 American West Football Conference (AFC) season. They were the first professional football team to play in Reno since the Reno Barons played part of a season in 2011. The team withdrew from the AWFC 2020 season about a month prior to the start of the season, but stated they had plans to return in 2021.

The Tri-Cities Fire were a professional indoor football team based out of Kennewick, Washington, with home games at the Toyota Center during the 2019 season. They were owned by Kinshasa Martin of Rampage Sports Entertainment, LLC. They folded in February 2020 after playing one season, citing lack of support from sponsors and ticket sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks</span> American indoor football team

The Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks are a professional indoor football team based in Wenatchee, Washington, that began playing football in 2019 with home games at the Town Toyota Center. It is the first team to play in the Wenatchee Valley since the Wenatchee Valley Venom of the Indoor Football League in 2011. They are owned by Hook Sports Media, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Area Panthers</span> Arena football team in San Jose, California

The Bay Area Panthers are a professional indoor football team based in San Jose, California. They are a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) and were 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 cancelled and then the team withdrew from the following 2021 season. Prior to the 2022 season, the Panthers announced they would instead play their home games at the SAP Center in San Jose and were renamed after the Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital City Cyclones</span>

The Capital City Cyclones are a professional indoor football team based in Tallahassee, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Indoor Football Alliance</span> American sports league

The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) is a minor-professional American indoor football league based in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE". AWFC Insider. October 15, 2018. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Western US based indoor football league forming for 2019". Arena Football Talk. October 21, 2018. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ "2020 AWFC Season Postponed due to Coronavirus". www.americanwestfootballconference.com. March 13, 2020. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ "THE AWFC CANCELS THE 2020 SEASON DUE TO COVID-19". American West Football Conference. July 31, 2020. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  5. ↑ @WSkyhawks (May 21, 2021). "It's been a very crazy 2 years for us, players, and most importantly, our seasons ticket holders and sponsors. It's out of our control as well as the TTC. Due 2 the TTC being the relief center as well as the vaccine location, we are unable to play any home games at this time" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ "IDAHO HORSEMEN CLAIM VICTORY IN AMERICAN WEST BOWL IV". American West Football Conference. July 2, 2023. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.