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The following is a list of Arena Football League (AFL) teams. The AFL was a professional indoor American football league based in the United States.
The AFL started play with the 1987 season, featuring the Chicago Bruisers, the Denver Dynamite, the Pittsburgh Gladiators and the Washington Commandos. The Pittsburgh franchise became the Tampa Bay Storm in 1991 – they were the only franchise remaining from the inaugural 1987 season still operating until the 2017 season; after that season, they announced an indefinite suspension of operations, leaving open the possibility of returning in the future if the league were restructured in such a way as to make operation of a franchise potentially profitable.
As of the 2019 season, the final season in league history, 65 different franchises (operating under 85 different names when allowing for a franchise changing city or name) had competed in the AFL, of which 60 either left to compete in another indoor football league, suspended operations, or folded outright. At its height, the AFL featured 19 teams competing in the same season: 2001, 2004 and 2007.
Following the 2019 season, the AFL announced the closure of all its teams, but not the league itself. The league mulled over plans to operate with a touring format, with each week's games in a different arena and no set homes for any of its teams (much like the Premier Lacrosse League, BIG3, and most individual sports); however, league commissioner Randall Boe announced the league's filing for bankruptcy and cessation of operations on November 27, 2019.[1]
| Team | City | Arena | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Empire | Albany, New York | Times Union Center | 2017 | 2018 |
| Atlantic City Blackjacks | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Boardwalk Hall | 2019 | |
| Baltimore Brigade | Baltimore, Maryland | Royal Farms Arena | 2016 | 2017 |
| Columbus Destroyers | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | 1999 | 2019 |
| Philadelphia Soul | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | 2004 | |
| Washington Valor | Washington, DC | Capital One Arena | 2016 | 2017 |
The Arena Football League expanded and contracted many times throughout its history. Between 1987 and 2018, every year in the AFL had at least one team fold, relocate, or change names. There were never two consecutive seasons in which the league had exactly the same lineup of cities. The league reached its maximum size in the 2001, 2004 and 2007 seasons, in which 19 teams competed in each instance. The league was then primarily contracting from 2011 to 2018, either dropping teams proving to be financially unfeasible or having teams depart because of concerns about the financial structure or travel distances.[citation needed] In 2019, the league had its first season in which all teams returned from the previous season, where the league had tied a record low of four active members.
| Year | # of teams | Expansion teams | Folded teams | Teams in a new League | Suspended teams | Returning teams | Relocated teams | Name changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 4 | Chicago Bruisers Denver Dynamite Pittsburgh Gladiators Washington Commandos |
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| 1988 | 6 | Detroit Drive Los Angeles Cobras New England Steamrollers New York Knights |
Denver Dynamite Washington Commandos |
|||||
| 1989 | 5 | Los Angeles Cobras New England Steamrollers New York Knights |
Denver Dynamite Maryland Commandos |
Maryland Commandos (from Washington) | ||||
| 1990 | 6 | Albany Firebirds Dallas Texans |
Chicago Bruisers | Washington Commandos (from Maryland) | ||||
| 1991 | 8 | Columbus Thunderbolts New Orleans Night Orlando Predators |
Washington Commandos | Pittsburgh → Tampa Bay Storm | ||||
| 1992 | 12 | Arizona Rattlers Charlotte Rage Cincinnati Rockers Sacramento Attack San Antonio Force |
Denver Dynamite | Columbus → Cleveland Thunderbolts | ||||
| 1993 | 10 | New Orleans Night San Antonio Force |
Sacramento → Miami Hooters | |||||
| 1994 | 11 | Fort Worth Cavalry Las Vegas Sting Milwaukee Mustangs |
Cincinnati Rockers Dallas Texans |
Detroit → Massachusetts Marauders | ||||
| 1995 | 13 | Connecticut Coyotes Iowa Barnstormers Memphis Pharaohs St. Louis Stampede San Jose SaberCats |
Cleveland Thunderbolts | Massachusetts Marauders Fort Worth Cavalry |
||||
| 1996 | 15 | Texas Terror | Las Vegas → Anaheim Piranhas Fort Worth → Minnesota Fighting Pike (dormant from 1995) |
Florida Bobcats (from Miami Hooters) | ||||
| 1997 | 14 | Nashville Kats New Jersey Red Dogs New York CityHawks |
Charlotte Rage Connecticut Coyotes Minnesota Fighting Pike St. Louis Stampede |
Memphis → Portland Forest Dragons | ||||
| 1998 | 14 | Anaheim Piranhas | Massachusetts Marauders → Grand Rapids Rampage (dormant for three years) |
Houston Thunderbears (from Texas Terror) | ||||
| 1999 | 15 | Buffalo Destroyers | New York → New England Sea Wolves | |||||
| 2000 | 17 | Carolina Cobras Los Angeles Avengers |
Portland → Oklahoma Wranglers | |||||
| 2001 | 19 | Chicago Rush Detroit Fury |
Albany → Indiana Firebirds Iowa → New York Dragons New England → Toronto Phantoms |
New Jersey Gladiators (from New Jersey Red Dogs) | ||||
| 2002 | 16 | Dallas Desperados | Florida Bobcats Houston Thunderbears Milwaukee Mustangs Oklahoma Wranglers |
Nashville → Georgia Force[notes 1] | ||||
| 2003 | 16 | Colorado Crush | Toronto Phantoms | New Jersey → Las Vegas Gladiators | ||||
| 2004 | 19 | Austin Wranglers New Orleans VooDoo Philadelphia Soul |
Buffalo → Columbus Destroyers | |||||
| 2005 | 17 | Nashville Kats | Carolina Cobras Detroit Fury Indiana Firebirds |
|||||
| 2006 | 18 | Kansas City Brigade Utah Blaze |
New Orleans VooDoo | |||||
| 2007 | 19 | New Orleans VooDoo | ||||||
| 2008 |
17 | Nashville Kats | Austin Wranglers (af2) | Las Vegas → Cleveland Gladiators | ||||
| 2009 |
0 | New Orleans VooDoo Los Angeles Avengers |
Arizona Rattlers Chicago Rush Cleveland Gladiators Colorado Crush Columbus Destroyers Dallas Desperados Georgia Force Grand Rapids Rampage Kansas City Brigade New York Dragons Orlando Predators Philadelphia Soul San Jose SaberCats Tampa Bay Storm Utah Blaze |
|||||
| 2010 |
15 | Alabama Vipers* Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings* Dallas Vigilantes Iowa Barnstormers* Jacksonville Sharks Milwaukee Iron* Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz* Spokane Shock* Tulsa Talons* (* Promoted from af2) |
Arizona Rattlers Chicago Rush Cleveland Gladiators Orlando Predators Tampa Bay Storm Utah Blaze |
|||||
| 2011 |
18 | Pittsburgh Power | Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz | Kansas City Command Philadelphia Soul San Jose SaberCats |
Alabama Vipers → Georgia Force Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings → New Orleans VooDoo[2] |
Kansas City Command (from Kansas City Brigade) Milwaukee Mustangs (from Milwaukee Iron) | ||
| 2012 |
17 | Dallas Vigilantes | Tulsa Talons → San Antonio Talons | |||||
| 2013 |
14 | Georgia Force Kansas City Command |
Milwaukee Mustangs | |||||
| 2014 |
14 | Los Angeles Kiss | Chicago Rush Utah Blaze |
Milwaukee Mustangs → Portland Thunder | ||||
| 2015 |
12 | Las Vegas Outlaws | Pittsburgh Power San Antonio Talons |
Iowa Barnstormers (Indoor Football League) | ||||
| 2016 | 8 | Las Vegas Outlaws New Orleans VooDoo San Jose SaberCats |
Spokane Shock (Indoor Football League as Spokane Empire) | Portland Steel (from Portland Thunder) | ||||
| 2017 | 5 | Baltimore Brigade Washington Valor[3][4] |
Los Angeles Kiss Orlando Predators Portland Steel |
Arizona Rattlers (Indoor Football League) Jacksonville Sharks (National Arena League) |
||||
| 2018 | 4 | Albany Empire | Tampa Bay Storm | Cleveland Gladiators | ||||
| 2019 | 6 | Atlantic City Blackjacks | Columbus Destroyers | |||||
| 2020 | 0 | Albany Empire Atlantic City Blackjacks Baltimore Brigade Cleveland Gladiators Columbus Destroyers Philadelphia Soul Washington Valor |
||||||
| Year | # of teams | Expansion teams | Folded teams | Teams in a new League | Suspended teams | Returning teams | Relocated teams | Name changes |
| Team | First AFL season | Final AFL season | Previous name(s) | Previous name(s) season(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Vipers | 2010 | 2010 | Tennessee Valley Vipers Tennessee Valley Raptors |
2000–2004, 2006–2009 2005 |
Franchise founded in af2 in 2000, then moved to United Indoor Football in 2005. Rejoined af2 in 2006, then joined new AFL in 2010. Moved to Georgia and became the reincarnated Georgia Force for the 2011 season. |
| Albany Empire | 2018 | 2019 | Team closed and subsequently folded with league's 2019 bankruptcy. | ||
| Anaheim Piranhas | 1994 | 1997 | Las Vegas Sting | 1994–1995 | Reason for cession of operations: Owner C. David Baker became league Commissioner. |
| Arizona Rattlers | 1992 | 2016 | Moved to Indoor Football League. | ||
| Atlantic City Blackjacks | 2019 | 2019 | Team closed and subsequently folded with league's 2019 bankruptcy. | ||
| Austin Wranglers | 2004 | 2007 | Moved to af2, folded. | ||
| Baltimore Brigade | 2017 | 2019 | Team closed and subsequently folded with league's 2019 bankruptcy. | ||
| Carolina Cobras | 2000 | 2004 | |||
| Charlotte Rage | 1992 | 1996 | |||
| Chicago Politicians | 1986 | 1986 | Playtest game only. | ||
| Chicago Bruisers | 1987 | 1989 | |||
| Chicago Rush | 2001 | 2013 | Suspended operations and never returned. | ||
| Cincinnati Rockers | 1992 | 1993 | |||
| Cleveland Thunderbolts | 1991 | 1994 | Columbus Thunderbolts | 1991 | |
| Cleveland Gladiators | 1997 | 2017 | New Jersey Red Dogs New Jersey Gladiators Las Vegas Gladiators |
1997–2000 2001–2002 2003–2007 |
Had planned to return in 2020 before the league went bankrupt. |
| Colorado Crush | 2003 | 2008 | Not to be confused with the Colorado Ice, which formed in 2007 in United Indoor Football (part of the Indoor Football League merger) and later took on the Crush name before folding after that league's 2017 season. | ||
| Columbus Destroyers | 1999 2019 |
2008 2019 |
Buffalo Destroyers | 1999–2003 | Inactive from 2008 to 2019. Returned for the 2019 season, then closed and subsequently folded with the league's bankruptcy. |
| Connecticut Coyotes | 1995 | 1996 | Attempted and failed to sell the franchise. | ||
| Dallas Desperados | 2002 | 2008 | Replaced by Dallas Vigilantes | ||
| Dallas Texans | 1990 | 1993 | |||
| Dallas Vigilantes | 2010 | 2011 | |||
| Denver Dynamite | 1987 | 1991 | Inactive for 1988. | ||
| Detroit Fury | 2001 | 2004 | |||
| Florida Bobcats | 1992 | 2001 | Sacramento Attack, Miami Hooters |
1992, 1993–1995 |
|
| Fort Worth Cavalry | 1994 | 1994 | |||
| Georgia Force | 2002 | 2012 | Inactive for 2010 season. | ||
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1998 | 2008 | |||
| Houston ThunderBears | 1996 | 2001 | Texas Terror | 1996–1997 | |
| Indiana Firebirds | 1990 | 2004 | Albany Firebirds | 1990–2000 | Albany Firebirds name and logo returned in af2 in 2009, replacing the Albany Conquest. |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 2010 | 2014 | Original franchise became the New York Dragons following 2000 season; the revived franchise launched in AF2 in 2008 and rejoined the AFL in 2010. Team left following the 2014 season for the Indoor Football League. | ||
| Jacksonville Sharks | 2010 | 2016 | Left the AFL for the new National Arena League. | ||
| Kansas City Command | 2006 | 2012 | Kansas City Brigade | 2006–2008 | Inactive for the 2010 season |
| Las Vegas Outlaws | 2015 | 2015 | |||
| Los Angeles Avengers | 2000 | 2008 | |||
| Los Angeles Cobras | 1988 | 1988 | |||
| Los Angeles Kiss | 2014 | 2016 | |||
| Massachusetts Marauders | 1988 | 1994 | Detroit Drive | 1988–1993 | |
| Miami Vise | 1987 | 1987 | Showcase game only. | ||
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 1994 | 2001 | |||
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 2010 | 2012 | Milwaukee Iron | 2010 | Inactive for the 2013 season, team moved to Portland for 2014 and became the Portland Thunder |
| Minnesota Fighting Pike | 1996 | 1996 | |||
| Nashville Kats | 1997 | 2007 | Returned as the Nashville Kats in 2005. | ||
| New England Steamrollers | 1988 | 1988 | |||
| New Orleans Night | 1991 | 1992 | |||
| New Orleans VooDoo | 2004 | 2008 | Did not play 2006 season. | ||
| 2011 | 2015 | Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings | 2010 | Bossier-Shreveport moved to New Orleans and became the VooDoo after coming back from the af2. | |
| New York Dragons | 1995 | 2008 | Iowa Barnstormers | 1995–2000 | Barnstormers name returned in 2010 with a new AFL team. |
| New York Knights | 1988 | 1988 | |||
| Oklahoma Wranglers | 1995 | 2001 | Memphis Pharaohs, Portland Forest Dragons |
1995–1996, 1997–1998 |
|
| Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz | 2010 | 2010 | |||
| Orlando Predators | 1991 | 2016 | Suspended operations | ||
| Philadelphia Soul | 2004 | 2019 | Team closed and subsequently folded with the league's 2019 bankruptcy. | ||
| Pittsburgh Power | 2011 | 2014 | Suspended operations. | ||
| Portland Steel | 2014 | 2016 | Portland Thunder | 2014–2015 | |
| Rockford Metros | 1986 | 1986 | Playtest game only. | ||
| San Antonio Force | 1992 | 1992 | |||
| San Antonio Talons | 2012 | 2014 | Tulsa Talons | 1999–2011 | Franchise started as the Tulsa Talons in af2 back in 1999. Joined the new AFL in 2010 and relocated to San Antonio in 2012. |
| San Jose SaberCats | 1995 | 2015 | |||
| Spokane Shock | 2010 | 2015 | Franchise started in af2 in 2005. Joined the new AFL in 2010. Team left for the IFL after 2015 season. Team later folded in 2017, before being resurrected for the 2020 IFL season. | ||
| St. Louis Stampede | 1995 | 1996 | |||
| Tampa Bay Storm | 1987 | 2017 | Pittsburgh Gladiators | 1987–1990 | Ceased operations |
| Toronto Phantoms | 1997 | 2002 | New York CityHawks, New England Sea Wolves |
1997–1998, 1999–2000 |
|
| Utah Blaze | 2006 | 2013 | Suspended operations. | ||
| Washington Commandos | 1987 | 1990 | Maryland Commandos | 1989 | Did not play the 1988 season. |
| Washington Valor | 2017 | 2019 | Team closed and subsequently folded with the league's 2019 bankruptcy. |
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