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.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-six AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining six are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in 2004. They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of ten seasons of play.
The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center.
Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller arena. It is distinct from traditional American or Canadian football played in larger domed or open-air stadiums, although several early college football games contested on full-sized or nearly full-sized fields at Chicago Coliseum (1890s) and Atlantic City Convention Center helped to show that football could be played as an indoor game.
The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansion Texas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.
The Roanoke Dazzle were an NBA Development League team based in Roanoke, Virginia, U.S. In operation from the inaugural D-League season of 2001–02 through the 2005–06 season, the Dazzle marked the return of professional basketball to Roanoke since the Virginia Squires called Roanoke home in the 1970s. Playing their home games at the Roanoke Civic Center, their logo design featured a star moving on rail tracks around a basketball.
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midwestern United States.
The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center. They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
Berglund Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, as well as the Roanoke Express and Roanoke Valley Vipers ice hockey teams. Currently, it is the home of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the Southern Professional Hockey League, Virginia Tech, Radford University and Roanoke College men's ice hockey teams. The arena is also the home of the annual boys basketball games between Roanoke's two city high schools, Patrick Henry High School and William Fleming High School.
The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championship in 1971–72. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team transferred to the Central Hockey League for the 1974–75 season.
The Roanoke Valley Vipers were a minor professional ice hockey team located in Roanoke, Virginia. They were a member of the United Hockey League and played in the Roanoke Civic Center.
The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season.
The Roanoke Express were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Jacksonville Tomcats were an arena football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They were an inaugural franchise in af2, the developmental league of the Arena Football League (AFL), and played for three seasons, from 2000 to 2002. They played their home games at Jacksonville Coliseum.
The Roanoke Valley Rampage were a minor league hockey franchise in the ECHL during the 1992–93 season. The Rampage played their games at the LancerLot in Vinton, Virginia. The Rampage had played from 1983–90 as the Virginia Lancers, played as the Roanoke Valley Rebels between 1990–92, and were rebranded as the Rampage.
Sports in San Diego include one men's major professional sports team, several teams from other highest-level professional leagues, minor league teams, semi-pro and club teams, and college athletics. The most popular team in San Diego is the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Also popular locally are the college teams of the San Diego State Aztecs, which play in NCAA Division I (FBS).
The 2005–06 United Hockey League season was the 15th season of the United Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. 14 teams participated in the regular season and the Kalamazoo Wings won the league title.
The 2006–07 United Hockey League season was the 16th season of the United Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Ten teams participated in the regular season and the Rockford IceHogs won the league title.
The 1996–97 IHL season was the 52nd season of the International Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. 19 teams participated in the regular season, and the Detroit Vipers won the Turner Cup.
