Duluth to get 'in your face' arena football team in 2024

DULUTH - This city will again have its own indoor football team, scheduled to begin play in June 2024 in the old hockey arena at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).

The Arena League, a new organization run by Heisman Trophy winner-turned Los Angeles Raider Tim Brown, announced its intent Wednesday to set up a team in Duluth.

Springfield, Mo., was the first city named in early March, followed by a period of online voting to narrow the options. The league is expected to have four teams in its inaugural season.

"This gives us a good excuse to revive the old arena — which is still a beautiful space," said Dan Hartman, executive director of the DECC. "This is a way more 'in your face' experience because you're so close to the game."

The teams will be made up of Division I athletes who weren't drafted by NFL teams — or were drafted and then released.

"This is an opportunity for them to continue playing with scouts watching," said Tommy Benizio, a consultant for the league. "We expect high-scoring games, big hits, things people cheer for."

Officials said they hope to draw locally known players as the league grows.

The Arena League plans to emphasize the highlights of regular football, with extra attention on the entertainment. Each team will have six players who play both offense and defense on a 50-yard field. There will be a quick-play clock and helmets are equipped with microphones so fans can hear all communication. Expect a high-jumping player to sometimes leap over the walls — hockey boards with padding — when making a catch.

Don't like the referee? They can be ousted from future games via fan voting — one of several decisions the Arena League is leaving up to fans. It's holding a contest soliciting ideas for the name, logo and team colors. Season tickets are available, including floor-level box seats that come with parking and a table-side server.

The Arena League team joins the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League for college baseball players, and Duluth FC, a semipro team from the National Premier Soccer League partly owned by Olympic curling champion John Shuster as summer spectator sports for the region.

Duluth last had an indoor football team in the early 2000s when the Duluth Lumberjacks played at the DECC Arena. Other cities still under consideration for franchises include Rochester, Kansas City, Mo., Rockford, Ill., Dubuque and Waterloo, Iowa, Little Rock, Ark., Wichita Falls, Texas, and Oklahoma City.