Post by DiamondThief on Oct 25, 2023 12:40:17 GMT -8
10/25/23 --
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Indoor professional football is coming to Indiana.
The Indoor Football League and an ownership group announced today that a yet-to-be-named team would begin play in the IFL in the city of Fishers beginning in 2025. Fishers is located a short drive northeast of Indianapolis, the state's capital and largest city. The new team will play at Fishers Event Center, which is currently under construction. Specific information about the team, such as the name and color scheme, will be announced at a later date.
Fishers Event Center will have a capacity of 6,500 persons and also will be the home of the Indy Fuel of the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey league). Jim Hallett is the owner of both the Fuel and new IFL team.
“We are excited to bring another professional sports team to the Indianapolis area,” Hallett said in a press release today. “The new event center in Fishers is going to become a hub for sports and entertainment and I’m excited to offer another affordable family fun experience in our city.”
While Fishers has not housed a professional team before, nearby Indianapolis boasts teams in two of the four major North American sports; the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League and the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association. The area has also been home to a myriad of other sports teams, including the Fuel and the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association.
IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon boast about the market area in the IFL's press release.
“Great leadership, great market, a beautiful new arena and great ownership. Everything we are looking for,” Tryon said. “2025 will be here before you know it and the Indy market is going to love this.”
More than likely, the IFL will put the new team in the Eastern Conference as it is the third-farthest east coast team in the league. All 14 teams from 2023 return for the 2024 season, along with the additions of the Jacksonville Sharks and San Antonio Gunslingers. Both teams move over from the National Arena league over the past two months.
Two IFL teams seem to be in limbo without indication that they will line up in 2024. They are the Bismarck Bucks who last played in 2022 and took time off to comply with North Dakota's state worker's comp regulations, and the Columbus Wild Dogs which were announced in 2019, but have kicked the proverbial can down the road now until at least 2025. The Indy team is the first team confirmed to (re-)join the league in 2025.
The IFL is coming off its 15th season which saw the second-year Bay Area Panthers claim the championship over the Sioux Falls Storm. The 2024 schedule is expected to be released within the next two weeks.
-ANM
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