By Seth Tucker

HENDERSON - The Indoor Football League has announced they will be expanding to the Las Vegas Valley, with their 18th team set to play in 2022.

Per the official announcement made earlier today on the IFL's website, IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon stated, "Our league just got better today with the announcement of not only a great market in Vegas, but an even better ownership group."

The team, owned by the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights' Chairman and CEO Bill Foley and Dollar Loan Center Founder and CEO Chuck Brennan, will share an arena with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League, affiliates of the Golden Knights. Dollar Loan Center, the arena where the Vegas team will play, is slated to open in spring 2022. The official team name and logo will be announced at a later date.

Prior to this new Vegas team, there have been (at least) three other arena football teams to call Las Vegas home. Teams include the Las Vegas Sting (AFL; 1994-1995), the Las Vegas Gladiators (AFL; 2003-2007), and the Las Vegas Outlaws (AFL; 2015). 

​For more information regarding the Vegas expansion franchise, visit vegasindoorfootball.com or follow their social media pages @vegasifl on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

​Written by Chris Mabry 

In 2020 prior to COVID-19 ending the season, the then expansion team Frisco Fighters were going to play their first season at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Then, the season was postponed. 

Over a year has past and thanks Texas Governor Greg Abbott has lifted any and all restrictions. This includes lifting mask restrictions and opening the state at 100 percent. Teams the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys have announced they will fill their stadiums to full compacity when their seasons start.

Now, you can put the Frisco Fighters on that list as they announce they will open the Comerica Center to full compacity starting in April. 

You can see the full story by Clicking here

Written by Chris Mabry
As it was announced last week, the Indoor Football League has released a revised 2021 season schedule. The 2021 which was going to start March 28 is now going to start May 15. In a statement, the IFL says “In trying to best meet the varying needs of all of our member teams, we determined as a league that delaying the start of the season is in the best interest of the IFL,” said league Commissioner Todd Tryon. “With a national footprint that stretches from the East Coast to the West Cost and from North Dakota all the way down to Texas, this year calls for us to be flexible and to consider the unique restrictions, or lack thereof, of each of our 12 markets.
 
“We view this as a positive step, as we have been able to put together a schedule that will allow each team the best opportunity for success in its own local market, while also allowing for additional time for our country as a whole to make greater strides in our collective efforts against the COVID pandemic. At the same time, we realize there will continue to be issues related to COVID and we have spent many hours developing plans on how we will deal with in-season situations that may arise.”
 
The IFL has developed a comprehensive system of COVID protocols and procedures that places the safety of the league’s fans, players, coaches, team and league staff, and partners at the forefront, including roster modifications, team testing procedures, limits on how teams interact within large group settings.
 
“The IFL is committed to delivering to our fans the best indoor football product in the world, and we look forward to kicking off our 13th season,” Tryon added. “We have many more exciting announcements regarding national broadcasts and other national partners that we look forward to sharing in the coming weeks.” 

​If you want to see the entire 2021 revised schedule by the IFL, click here 

Written by Chris Mabry
​
2020 was a down year for Champions Indoor Football and 2021 is no different. As this season is quickly approaching, two teams have decided not to play this season. Those teams are the Amarillo Venom and the West Texas Birds. Both teams are based where COVID numbers are high and where there arenas are used as either COVID vaccination sites or testing locations. 

The CIF season was originally going to start on March 12 but now that two teams have opted out, the plan is to start on March 27 and have the season end sometime in June. More information will be revealed on February 18 when the revised schedule will be released. 
​

By Seth Tucker

Atlanta - The National Arena League has announced via their website that they will be shortening their season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing the season from it's original 17-week slate to 10 weeks, with each team playing eight games. 

The move will push the first game back from April 3rd, 2021 to May 22nd, 2021, with playoffs scheduled to take place July 31, 2021 and a championship game on August 14th.

NAL commissioner Chris Siegfried said in the announcement, "Arena football is all about the fans, they help make the game great. We wouldn't think about playing without our fans, and this decision was made with them in mind."

Read the full article here, at National Arena League Shifts to Eight-Game Schedule - National Arena League.

By Seth Tucker

MOLINE - Have you ever wanted to own part of a sports team but couldn't ever get your foot in the door? Well now's your chance! The Quad City Steamwheelers of the IFL are selling stocks of their team for as little as $125.

Majority owner Doug Bland sold an estimated 10% of the team to brokerage firm IPO Wallet, where they are now selling portions of the team to anyone who wants to put up the dough. Bland, in an interview with the Quad City Times, mentioned that he and other owners of the team had been thinking of selling shares to the general public for awhile, but that the cancelling of the 2020 season gave them the little extra push to go for it. In October of 2020, the team announced on social media that they would be selling shares of the team to the public. 

What exactly comes with owning part of the Steamwheelers? Well for starters, it can be an investment, and after a period of years, you could sell your portion of the team in hopes that the team's value has gone up in that time so that you can make a bit of money. On the website where you can make your investment, Home - IPO Wallet, they list off a number of tiers and what comes with investing at each tier, starting with $125. At the minimum, you'll receive a stock certificate of ownership, a 10% discount on all merchandise and tickets, and an invite to the annual team owner's meeting where you will get to tour the arena, practice facility and "weigh in on matters of team importance," according to their IPO Wallet page. Other incentives include free tickets to games, jerseys and other merchandise, and a championship ring should the Steamwheelers win a championship.

For more information on the investment, visit IPO Wallet. 

So what are you waiting for? Invest in the Quad City Steamwheelers now!

Written by Chris Mabry

Are you a free agent football player looking to continue your playing career? Then the Frisco Fighters are looking for you.

The Frisco Fighters, anew team in the IFL are looking to build their 2021 roster as they couldn't compete last season due to COVID-19 cancelling the season. With that said, here are the locations for the tryouts: 

When: Saturday, February 6, 2021
Where: Lone Star High School
2606 Panther Creek Pkwy
Frisco, TX 75033
Cost: $50 (cash or money order, no checks)
Registration: 8:00 am
Camp Starts: 9:00 am


TRYOUT CAMP #2
When: Saturday, March 6, 2021
Where: TBD, but somewhere in Frisco, TX
Cost: $50 (cash or money order, no checks)
Registration: 8:00 am
Camp Starts: 9:00 am

For more information click here

Good luck to those who chose to tryout and hope you get back out on the playing field. 

By Terry Tebrugge

​The Sioux City Bandits of Champions Indoor Football have announced a major milestone in their long and storied history.

According to a statement from the team, long-time owner and manager, Bob Scott, finalized the sale of the Bandits to northwest Missouri businessman and entrepreneur, J.R. Bond earlier this week.

"The decision to sell the Bandits was not an easy one and is a bittersweet day for me and my partners. We are proud to be the longest running team under the same ownership group in all of indoor football. We could not have done it with out the support of our great sponsors and fans. We also owe a debt of gratitude to our staff who are so devoted and worked so hard for this franchise." states Bob Scott. "We wish J. R. Bond the best of luck in this endeavor and will do everything to make this transition as smooth as possible."

Scott has set a solid foundation for indoor football in Sioux City over the last two decades he has owned the Bandits.

"I am honored to carry on the tradition of the Sioux City Bandits,” adds Bond. “What Bob has built here is incredible. The Bandits are truly a community asset and I am humbled by Bob's trust to carry on what he started more than 20 years ago. We look forward to many more years of delivering affordable family entertainment to Sioux City."

The team says more changes are coming for 2021 and a formal press conference to introduce Bond will be held in the coming weeks.

By Chris Mabry and Seth Tucker

GRAND ISLAND - NE, IFL Fans it's finally here. The schedule for the 2021 season is finally out. Before we go through the schedule, here's a breakdown at what to look for in 2021. 

This upcoming IFL season will feature 12 teams. They will be divided into two conferences each with six members. All 12 teams will compete in a 17 week regular season with each club playing a total of 16 games with two bye weeks. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams will qualify for the playoffs and compete for a spot in the United Bowl.

Here are the teams playing this season:
1. Sioux Falls Storm 
2. Louisville Xtreme 
3. Iowa Barnstormers 
4. Green Bay Blizzard
5. Bismarck Bucks
6. Massachusetts Pirates.
7. Arizona Rattlers 
8. Tuscan Sugar Skulls 
9. Northern Arizona Wranglers 
10. Duke City Gladiators 
11. Spokane Shock 
12. Frisco Fighters

Key Takeaways
The season will kickoff on Sunday, March 28th, 2021, with the defending champion The Sioux Falls Storm will take on the Green Bay Blizzard at home in the Hall of Fame Game. This will be the lone matchup for that week. Following week one, every team is in action, with the first teams not taking a bye week until week three. All teams will have had their bye week by Week 16.

The Duke City Gladiators have a tough stretch of games in Weeks 4-9, playing five away games in this stretch, only broken up by a bye week in week six.

The Louisville Xtreme and Spokane Shock are the only teams to play back-to-back games against the same opponent, with the two teams playing each other weeks 10 and 11.

The Pirates and Shock each play 11 different opponents, most in the league, while the Gladiators, Barnstormers, and Wranglers each play six different opponents, least in the league.