Indoor Football Returning to Evansville Next Spring
UPDATE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH AT 11:07 A.M.
More information about the franchise were released during a joint press conference Tuesday morning at Ford Center with VenuWorks Executive Director, Scott Schoenike, and National Gridiron League Chairman and League President, Joe E. McClendon III.
Indoor football is making its return to Evansville with the announcement by the National Gridiron League that the Indiana Firebirds will call the Ford Center home.
Despite the news breaking locally on Friday, the League made the announcement back on August 14th through their Facebook page.
According to the announcement on the League's website, the Firebirds will be the "third announced franchise" in what is to be a 12-team League. A press conference at the Ford Center is expected on Tuesday to officially announce the franchise.
This will not be Evansville's first experience with indoor football. If you recall, Robert's Stadium was home of the Evansville Bluecats from 2003 until the team folded in 2007, amassing a win-loss record of 25-50 over their five seasons.
The indoor football game shares many similarities with its outdoor counterpart in terms of equipment and style of play, but it's unique in the fact that 1) it's indoors, and 2) the field is only 50 yards long with two 10-yard-deep end zones, half the length of a standard football field.
Despite the Bluecats playing there, the floor of Roberts Stadium wasn't big enough to support the length dimensions of an indoor football field so the end zones were only 8-yards-deep. That won't be an issue with the Ford Center as the field is basically takes up the same amount of space as a hockey rink, and we know that fits.
How they came up with the name, "Firebirds" is a mystery. Maybe we'll get an explanation at Tuesday's press conference.
Are you excited for the return of indoor football in Evansville? Let us know in the comment section below.
[Source: Eyewitness News / National Gridiron League]