Originally the Arena Developmental League (ADL), the National Arena League was founded in June 2016 by Columbus Lions owner Skip Seda and father Keke Seda in the wake of several small indoor leagues folding and teams jumping to other leagues. On November 18, 2016, before a snap of football had been played, the league announced it would change their name to the National Arena League. The league kicked-off their inaugural season in March 2017.
As part of the change in name, the league management was also restructured so that it was no longer solely managed by Lions' owner Skip Seda, but instead managed by all member teams equally. Later that same day, the league added former AFL team, the Jacksonville Sharks. With years of experience in the Arena Football industry, the owners will be able to help maintain the league and all of the teams in it for the long run. The Columbus Lions, Jacksonville Sharks, and West Virginia Roughriders are the most experienced teams in the league, having been in existence prior to the league’s inception.
The league currently consists of seven active teams with an eighth on hiatus for 2021. These teams are mainly along the east coast with the outlier Ontario Bandits in California; however, the Ontario Bandits went dormant for 2021 a week before the start of the season. The National Arena League is proceeding with 6 teams to the 2021 season.
2021 Teams:
Orlando Predators
Jacksonville Sharks
Columbus Lions
Carolina Cobras
Jersey Flight
Albany Empire
2021 On Hiatus:
West Virginia Roughriders
Ontario Bandits
Announced:
Charlotte Thunder (announced by team commentators; not the National Arena League)
As part of the change in name, the league management was also restructured so that it was no longer solely managed by Lions' owner Skip Seda, but instead managed by all member teams equally. Later that same day, the league added former AFL team, the Jacksonville Sharks. With years of experience in the Arena Football industry, the owners will be able to help maintain the league and all of the teams in it for the long run. The Columbus Lions, Jacksonville Sharks, and West Virginia Roughriders are the most experienced teams in the league, having been in existence prior to the league’s inception.
The league currently consists of seven active teams with an eighth on hiatus for 2021. These teams are mainly along the east coast with the outlier Ontario Bandits in California; however, the Ontario Bandits went dormant for 2021 a week before the start of the season. The National Arena League is proceeding with 6 teams to the 2021 season.
2021 Teams:
Orlando Predators
Jacksonville Sharks
Columbus Lions
Carolina Cobras
Jersey Flight
Albany Empire
2021 On Hiatus:
West Virginia Roughriders
Ontario Bandits
Announced:
Charlotte Thunder (announced by team commentators; not the National Arena League)
*NAL logo denotes league headquarters location
Updated August 4, 2021
Updated August 4, 2021
