Post by DiamondThief on Jul 26, 2022 10:27:15 GMT -8
7/26/22 --
BREAKING: The Indoor Football league this afternoon announced its newest franchise in Tulsa, Oklahoma this afternoon during a press conference attended by owner Andy Scurto, commissioner Todd Tryon and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Fox23 sports staff was informed by a source last week that the Tulsa Oilers professional hockey franchise (East Coast Hockey League) were bringing a professional sports team to the city and that it would be an arena/indoor football team. However, it was not previously been reported which of the myriad of indoor football leagues the team would join. The Oilers are the ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks and the American Hockey League's San Diego Gulls.
This will be the third indoor/arena football league team to call Tulsa its home. The Tulsa Talons were founded in 2000 and played in af2 through 2009, joining the Arena Football League the following year. During their time in af2, they made eight playoff appearances and won the ArenaCup in 2003 and 2009. They made the AFL playoffs in 2010. Following the 2011 season, team chairman Paul Ross moved the team to San Antonio due to lack of ticket sales and attendance. The San Antonio Talons went dormant after the 2014 AFL season.
The second indoor/arena franchise, the Oklahoma Defenders, was established in 2012 after the Talons departed. The Defenders played in the American Professional Football League (APFL) in 2012, then went on to play two more seasons in the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL). Shortly after the 2014 season, the Defenders ceased operations.
“I am thrilled to be bringing an IFL team to Tulsa and the BOK Center,” Scurto said at the press conference. “This addition will continue the commitment from myself and the Tulsa Oilers to bring great quality entertainment to the Tulsa area, and this will allow us to stay engaged with our incredible fan base year round. Indoor Football is fast paced and full of action and I know our fans will love the game.”
The new Tulsa franchise will play its home games at Bank of Oklahoma Center (shortened to BOK Center) located at 200 South Denver Avenue west in downtown Tulsa. The arena, originally constructed from 2005 to 2008, has a reported indoor football capacity of over 16,500. Tulsa's IFL team will share the arena with the Oilers.
Tulsa boasts a population of 413,066 persons and a metropolitan population of over one million, making it one of the larger markets in the IFL. With a roughly four-hour drive to Frisco, Texas, the location creates a potential rivalry opportunity with the Frisco Fighters, which have advanced to the Eastern Conference Final on July 29. Tulsa is located within about an hour-and-a-half drive of Oklahoma City which is to its southwest.
“Tulsa fits all three areas we look for in a new franchise,” Tryon said. “Location, venue and ownership. Andy and his team love the city of Tulsa, which has been pretty evident through our vetting process. The IFL got better today with this partnership, and we are more than excited to bring our fast break football to the great city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
The city's geography would currently put the team in the Eastern Conference, but that could be altered if more Eastern Conference expansion teams are announced between now and the IFL's 2023 season, which would be it's 14th season of existence; not including 2020 which was postponed, and eventually cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic after just two league games were played.
The Tulsa franchise is tentatively the 16th, pending other potential team additions, moves and folds. The Columbus Wild Dogs were announced as a franchise in 2021 and are slated to begin play next season, though SCtoC has two sources which have put significant doubts that that franchise will ever see the field.
Information on the name, color scheme and other team details will follow in the coming weeks and months. Fans and the community will have have a part in naming the new franchise.
The Fighters and Quad City Steamwheelers will play for the Eastern Conference title on July 29, while the Arizona Rattlers will host the Northern Arizona Wranglers on April 30. The winners will meet up in the 2023 Dollar Loan Center IFL National Championship game on August 13 at Henderson, Nevada.
- ANM
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