Wilkes-Barre is a city in and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city, after Scranton, in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 567,559 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the Delaware Valley, Greater Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley, and Greater Harrisburg.
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth-most populous city in Pennsylvania.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They have won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy twice for having the best record in the regular season.
The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league. They played in the East Division of the American Conference of the AF2 league, which was the minor league of the Arena Football League.
Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza is an 8,050-seat multi-purpose arena located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania just northeast of Wilkes-Barre.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runners-up in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.
The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan area, it is known as the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, after its principal cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. With a population of 567,559 as of the 2020 United States census, it is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania, after the Delaware Valley, Greater Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley, and the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical areas.
Richard Ingold was an Arena Football League (AFL) quarterback who played with the Washington Commandos and the Detroit Drive. He holds the all-time record for most career head coaching wins in af2 history, coaching the Quad City Steamwheelers and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, whom he led to Arena Cup VIII in 2007. His head coaching career also included a partial season coaching the Dallas Vigilantes of the AFL in 2010.
Northeastern Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Carbondale. A portion of this region is located in the New York City metropolitan area. Recently, Pennsylvania tourism boards have described Northeastern Pennsylvania as Upstate Pennsylvania.
The Fresno Frenzy were an expansion af2 team for the 2002 season. Fresno was joined by the Albany Conquest, Bakersfield Blitz, Cape Fear Wildcats, Hawaiian Islanders, Mobile Wizards, Mohegan Wolves, New Haven Ninjas, San Diego Riptide & the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. In 2002, they played their home games in Selland Arena, in which they finished 4–12, dead last in the Western Division of the National Conference. Despite going an even 4–4 in Fresno, they bombshelled on the road, going 0-8 that season. After the 2002 season, they folded after one year in Fresno. Arena football would return later to Fresno in 2004, when the original Bakersfield Blitz moved to Fresno, and called themselves the Central Valley Coyotes.
The New Haven Ninjas were an indoor American football team based in New Haven, Connecticut. They were an expansion team in the af2 for the 2002 season. On October 24, 2001, it was announced that Ninjas had won the name-the-team contest over Cyclones, Gladiators, Hawkeyes and ShoreDawgs. Along with the Ninjas, New Haven was joined by the Albany Conquest, Bakersfield Blitz, Cape Fear Wildcats, Fresno Frenzy, Hawaiian Islanders, Mobile Wizards, Mohegan Wolves, San Diego Riptide & the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. New Haven played in the American Conference of the Northeast Division. In 2002, the Ninjas finished 6–10, third in the Northeast Division. Still, that wasn't enough to play football in August. After the 2002 season, the Ninjas folded because the New Haven Coliseum closed, and the experiment for arena football in New Haven was done.
Dennis Kevin Bonvie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, most notable for being the most penalized player in professional hockey history with 4,804 career professional career penalty minutes. He is currently a pro scout for the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
The 2000–01 AHL season was the 65th season of the American Hockey League. The league realigned its divisions again. The Atlantic division was renamed as the Canadian division. The Empire State division was replaced by the South division, with many teams shifting from the Mid-Atlantic division.
Mohegan Pennsylvania is a racino located in Plains Township on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The casino features over 2,300 slots, live tables for blackjack, roulette and poker, and a sportsbook offering sports betting. The facility opened in 1965 as Pocono Downs, a harness racing track, which continues as an attraction at the complex.
Kevin J. Blaum is a former American politician who was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding area for nearly three decades.
The Pennsylvania Shamrocks were an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Pennsylvania. They were a charter member of the Professional Lacrosse League (PLL). They were previously known as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks and planned to play in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area before losing their lease to the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Shawn Liotta is an American football coach. He is currently the Head Coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Mavericks of Arena Football One.Since 2018 Liotta has served as the Head Football Coach at Burrell High School
Casey DeSmith is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He holds the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins record for most saves in a playoff game. DeSmith was named to the AHL's 2016–17 All-Rookie Team and was a co-recipient of the 2017 Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award.
Arena Football One is a future professional arena football league based in Nashville, Tennessee, set to play in 2025. The league was founded by the eight teams who had survived the 2024 Arena Football League season. The eight founding teams added multiple expansion teams in advance of the 2025 AF1 Season.
The 2025 season is the upcoming first season of the new Arena Football One. The regular season will begin on March 14, 2025, and run through June 13, 2025.
