BREAKING: IFL cancels entirety of 2020 Season

[David]

4.13.2020 -

The Indoor Football League announced on Monday that the 2020 regular season has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After announcing they would put the 2020 season on hold back on March 12, the league flat out canceled the entirety of the season. According to the league's press release, the unknowns surrounding COVID-19 (coronavirus) and the lack of definitive information, including when states that are currently under stay-home mandates as well as the restrictions on large gatherings of people. Two states most impacted by the stay-at-home mandates, Washington and California, are home to 3 of the 13 member franchises.

The IFL also cited other issues that it was facing if the 2020 regular season was able to resume, such as developing a modified schedule based on arena availability, conditioning for players to get back into playing shape due to lack of training, and time for teams to prepare for a re-launch once league and team staff members were allowed to return to their respective offices.

"This is a decision we take very seriously, and it comes as a result of extended, thoughtful discussion among our Board of Directors," IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon stated in the league's press release. "Because there are so many critical unknowns that are out of our control, we feel as a league we would be best serving the health and stability of the IFL community by taking a proactive approach and focusing our talents and our resources toward preparing for a breakout 2021 season. The health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, and fans is our top concern."

The IFL also revealed that its Board of Directors approved a 16-game regular season schedule for 2021, citing "additional value" for fans with season tickets and the league's sponsors.

Commissioner Tyron also stated, "The IFL remains committed to the safety and well-being of our players, our team and league staff members, our fans, and our corporate partners. During this extraordinary time in our country, we have all been impacted, and we believe that it will take all of us working together to return to a semblance of normalcy. With that stated, I am extremely proud of how our IFL teams have taken prominent leadership roles within their respective communities to provide assistance and hope to those who need it most. We will continue those efforts as best we can and we will work directly with our local governments and healthcare providers to help in any way we can in the midst of these difficult times."

The league did not get into specifics regarding how all 13 teams would their handle season tickets and ticket purchases, stating it would be made on a "team-by-team basis."

The other two upper echelon of indoor football leagues, Champions Indoor Football (CIF) and the National Arena League (NAL), have previously announced they were delaying the start of their respective 2020 seasons. It's assumed that both will follow what the IFL announced on Monday, but neither league has made the decision at the time of this report.

The full IFL press release is as follows:

IFL Cancels Remaining 2020 Games

SIOUX FALLS, SD -- The Indoor Football League, America's longest running professional indoor football league, announced Monday that it has cancelled the remaining games of the 2020 season due to the many unknowns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of definitive information as to when states will begin to lift stay-home mandates and again allow large gatherings such as sporting events.

"This is a decision we take very seriously, and it comes as a result of extended, thoughtful discussion among our Board of Directors," said IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon. "Because there are so many critical unknowns that are out of our control, we feel as a league we would be best serving the health and stability of the IFL community by taking a proactive approach and focusing our talents and our resources toward preparing for a breakout 2021 season. The health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, and fans is our top concern.

The IFL's Board of Directors also on Monday approved an extended 16-game schedule for the 2021 season to add additional value for season ticket holders and sponsors.

Among the many issues also facing the IFL in determining the feasibility of continuing the 2020 season include the difficulties to develop a modified schedule once arenas re-open, the amount of time needed for our players to safely regain playing form after not being able to train during this time, and the amount of time needed to allow our teams to properly prepare for a relaunch once staff is allowed to return to their offices.

"The IFL remains committed to the safety and well-being of our players, our team and league staff members, our fans, and our corporate partners," Tryon added. "During this extraordinary time in our country, we have all been impacted, and we believe that it will take all of us working together to return to a semblance of normalcy. With that stated, I am extremely proud of how our IFL teams have taken prominent leadership roles within their respective communities to provide assistance and hope to those who need it most. We will continue those efforts as best we can and we will work directly with our local governments and healthcare providers to help in any way we can in the midst of these difficult times."

Policies regarding season tickets and other ticket purchases, along with how teams will handle corporate sponsorships for 2020, are being made on a team-by-team basis.

- DKH

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[spiderfan]

Will this affect the IFL going forward or do they expect to stick around in the future? The XFL going bust has me spooked.

[David]

Apr 13, 2020 20:14:17 GMT -8 spiderfan said:

Will this affect the IFL going forward or do they expect to stick around in the future? The XFL going bust has me spooked.

Well if it helps, the IFL has an established presence. The XFL had just began its inaugural season when this Corona thing hit. 

I think if any league is potentially doomed I'd say the CIF. Just a hunch I get.

As for the IFL, I know there's people in the Indoor Forum who have said that maybe a team like Bismarck, Cedar Rapids or Frisco might not survive. But we'll see. 

[Monika]

Apr 13, 2020 20:24:00 GMT -8 David said:

Apr 13, 2020 20:14:17 GMT -8 spiderfan said:

Will this affect the IFL going forward or do they expect to stick around in the future? The XFL going bust has me spooked.

Well if it helps, the IFL has an established presence. The XFL had just began its inaugural season when this Corona thing hit. 

I think if any league is potentially doomed I'd say the CIF. Just a hunch I get.

As for the IFL, I know there's people in the Indoor Forum who have said that maybe a team like Bismarck, Cedar Rapids or Frisco might not survive. But we'll see. 

It seems like this gives the league several more months to plan for next year. While a team or two might not survive, it seems to me like it has potential to make the league even stronger.