Springfield is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 487,061 in 2022 and includes the counties of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster, The city sits on the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks, which ranges from nearly-level to rolling hills. Springfield is the second-largest urban area in the Ozarks.
The Nashville Kats is the name of three separate franchises in the Arena Football League all located in Nashville, Tennessee. The original incarnation of the Kats launched in 1997 and were coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached that team to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to their move to Atlanta in 2002, then becoming the original Georgia Force. The second incarnation of the Kats joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, also coached by Sperduto, lasted two seasons before folding in 2007. The third incarnation of the team is set to play in 2024 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. The first two teams played at what is now the Bridgestone Arena.
Municipal Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. It opened in 1935 and features Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture and architectural details.
The Amarillo Venom are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center and are members of American Indoor Football as of August 2024. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, 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 history of the Kansas City metropolitan area has significant records since the 19th century, when Frenchmen from St. Louis, Missouri moved up the Missouri River to trap for furs and trade with the Native Americans. This strategic point for commerce and security at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers became the Kansas City metropolitan area, straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas. Kansas City, Missouri was founded in 1838 and surpassed the competing Westport to become the predominant city west of St. Louis. The area had a major role in the westward expansion of the United States. The Santa Fe and Oregon trails ran through the area. In 1854, when Kansas was opened to Euro-American settlement, the Missouri-Kansas border became the first battlefield in the conflict in the American Civil War.
The American Professional Football League (APFL) was an indoor football league that was founded in 2003. After the 2012 season, most of the teams left to start the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The league consisted of professional and semi-professional teams, with a few core teams that played a full 10 game schedule and other teams that played partial schedules. At the end of each season, the playoffs were contested between the league's core teams. The first few years of league play were dominated by the Kansas Koyotes, but in later years the league had more parity and more stable members, resulting in the first championship won by another team, the Iowa Blackhawks, and the first championship game not involving the Koyotes, when the Iowa Blackhawks defended their championship against the Mid-Missouri Outlaws in the 2010 APFL season. Former Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl champion Clayton Holmes played for the Kansas Koyotes and former Kansas State star QB Jonathan Beasley played for the Wichita Aviators.
The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena.
Vlatko Andonovski is a Macedonian-American association football manager and former player who is the head coach and sporting director of the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League. He was the head coach of the United States women's national team from 2019 to 2023.
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 Kansas City Phantoms were a professional indoor American football team based in Independence, Missouri. The Phantoms competed in Champions Indoor Football (CIF) as a member of the league's North Conference. The team was founded in 2016 by Dr. Ken Vehec and Antonio Hori. The Phantoms joined the CIF as an expansion team in 2017. The Phantoms played their home games at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for both seasons.
The American West Football Conference (AWFC) was 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 Oklahoma Flying Aces are a former professional indoor football team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and members of the National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 2018 as an expansion franchise in Champions Indoor Football for the 2019 season. The team was dormant for the 2021 season, but did not return in for the 2022 season. The Flying Aces' home games were initially played at Stride Bank Center. They will begin play at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in 2024.
The Topeka Tropics were a professional indoor football based in Topeka, Kansas, and played their home games at the Stormont Vail Events Center. The team originally folded after its inaugural 2022 season, but was renewed under new ownership before the 2023 season. The Tropics are the third indoor football team to be based in Topeka following the Topeka Knights/Kings (1999–2000) and the Kansas Koyotes (2003–2014).
The Arena League is a future six-on-six indoor American football league in the United States. The league intends to launch in 2024 with four teams.
Wilson Logistics Arena is a planned multipurpose arena in Springfield, Missouri located on the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. The stadium opened on January 11, 2024. The stadium replaced the Corwin Auto Arena.
The Ozarks Lunkers are a professional indoor football team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are currently members of The Arena League (TAL). They will play their home games at Wilson Logistics Arena, a multipurpose arena built next to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.
The 2024 TAL season is the upcoming inaugural season of The Arena League (TAL). The regular season is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2024, with the regular season ending on July 27, 2024.
The 2024 Arena Football League season is the first season in the new version of the Arena Football League (AFL).
The 2025 TAL season is the upcoming second season of The Arena League (TAL).
Dorsey Golston III is an American football coach. He is currently the inaugural head coach of the Kansas City Goats in The Arena League (TAL), which are to begin in 2024. Golston is also a former indoor football player.
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