The Arena Football League is back and will be in Minnesota in 2024.
In what capacity hasn’t been confirmed, but TMZ is reporting Minnesota will have a team in St. Paul that will be one of 16 teams included in the rebirth of the league.
The league itself announced Tuesday 16 locations that will have something to do with the 2024 season.
- Minnesota
- Boise, Idaho
- Austin, Texas
- Chicago, Illinois
- Orlando, Florida
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- St. Louis, Missouri
- California
- Louisiana
- Colorado
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Washington
- West Texas
What the Arena Football League didn’t announce is specific locations for each team. That’s where TMZ comes in, reporting that St. Paul will serve as the home of the Minnesota team. What the team will be called, where it will play, and who the ownership group is are all unknown.
The only other detail announced about the 2024 season is that teams will play a 10-game schedule beginning in April. Beyond that, it’s a mystery.
A 16-team league would be a huge increase from the original four-team league in 1987, and will more than double the size of the six-team league that last played in 2019. The Arena Football League has gone bankrupt twice in its history, and the 2024 season will be the first since the second bankruptcy was filed after the 2019 season.
Minnesota previously had a team for one season in the AFL. They were known as the Minnesota Fighting Pike and played in 1996 before folding.
More to come…
