Post by David on Nov 19, 2018 11:39:35 GMT -8
11.19.18 -
SAN DIEGO, CA - The Indoor Football League's offseason of growth increased by one with the announcement of an expansion franchise located in San Diego, California for the 2019 season.
Early on Monday morning, the league officially announced the addition of the San Diego Strike Force, increasing its number of participating teams to 10 as the league gets set to announce the 2019 schedule later today.
The Strike Force are slated to play at the Valley View Casino Center, located in the seaside neighborhood of Point Loma. The team will be owned by California businessman Roy Choi, who purchased the Cedar Rapids Titans back in February. Since the initial purchase of Cedar Rapids, Choi has overhauled the entire franchise, hiring Ryan Eucker, the 2016 IFL Executive of the Year for the Spokane Empire, as General Manager and re-branding the franchise from the Titans to the River Kings.
"We are happy to be a part of the San Diego community and bring the exciting action of indoor football to San Diego, California," Team President Greg Anderson stated in the league's press announcement.
"The addition of the league's newest team in San Diego is a monumental mark for the IFL," Commissioner Michael Allshouse said per the league's press release. "San Diego becomes one of the league's largest markets and will instantly provide a great local rivalry for our western teams. We look forward to a long and productive partnership with the team and the city."
With the addition of San Diego, the franchise becomes the western-most team in the league, and marks the first IFL franchise to play in the state of California since the league's inception in 2009. San Diego's home arena, Valley View Casino Center, has a seating capacity of 12,000 persons. It is the oldest venue of the 10 venues in the league, opening in November 1966.
Despite being the oldest venue in the league, Valley View Casino Center has a history with arena/indoor football. The arena was once home to the San Diego Riptide, who played from 2002-2005 in arenafootball2, the former developmental league for the Arena Football League. The Riptide saw moderate success in its 4 seasons of play, going 27-39 and one playoff berth. The arena was also home to the San Diego Seduction of the Legends Football League from 2009-2011. Most recently, in August 2016, the venue hosted the lone playoff game for the AFL's Los Angeles KISS due to a scheduling conflict.
The Strike Force's announcement allows the IFL to release its 2019 regular season schedule, slated to release at 2 p.m. (CT), 12 p.m. (PST). The team's logo, colors, head coach and season ticket information will be released in the near future.
The addition of the Strike Force caps off a successful off-season for the Indoor Football League, which fielded only 6 franchises in 2018. In addition to the six returning franchises (Arizona, Cedar Rapids, Green Bay, Iowa, Nebraska, Sioux Falls), the league has seen the growth in adding the expansion Tucson (AZ) Sugar Skulls, as well as the additions of two former members of Champions Indoor Football the Quad City (Moline, IL) Steamwheelers and the Bismarck (ND) Bucks.
The Strike Force won't be the only expansion football franchise to begin play next February; the San Diego Fleet, members of the Alliance of American Football, will set sail in the inaugural season of the newest spring football league.
- DKH/ANM
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