Minnesota has been tapped to become 1 of 16 new Arena Football League franchises
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In April 2023, officials from The Arena League announced that Duluth had been awarded the second of its four planned inaugural season teams that will begin play in 2024. Well, it looks like Duluth isn’t the only city that getting a team.
Related Story: The city of Duluth is now the new professional football home of the Duluth Arena League
The Arena Football League announced that the league will be reforming and returning in 2024, and they have announced 16 cities that will receive teams including Minnesota. According to a report by TMZ, the team will play in St. Paul.
The other 15 city locations mentioned that will be receiving teams are: Austin, Boise, California, Chicago, Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, Orlando, Philadelphia. St. Louis, Tallahassee, Tennessee, Washington and West Texas.
The reformation of the Arena Football League was made by former Gopher football player and Twin Cities attorney Lee Hutton serving as commissioner in February. The announcement also mentioned that the sixteen teams will play ten regular season games.
Minnesota briefly had a franchise in the original arena football league, the Minnesota Fighting Pike. The team played in the 1996 season, going 4-10; 0-7 in home games at the Target Center.