KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Arena League will return to Kansas City next year.
The league’s commissioner, NFL Hall of Famer and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, was in town Monday as the ownership group announced a new Arena League team, the Kansas City Goats.
Games will be played at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, beginning in June 2024.
“Boss Tom Pendergast was responsible for pushing through the construction of that building,” sports-radio personality Steven St. John said. “His faction was nicknamed the Goats. To pay homage to our home arena and to the history of Kansas City, we will be known as the Kansas City Goats.”
St. John is part of an ownership group that also includes Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer Christian Okoye and Gates BBQ COO George Gates.
When the new franchise was awarded in May, fans were asked to suggest possible team names.
“There were a lot of different ideas coming from the fans,” St. John said. “As examples of suggestions that were sent in, we had the Kansas City Potholes, the Kansas City Kings, and the Kansas City Ribs. Of the thousands of suggestions sent in, one of them stood out.”
Arena League games are played on a 50-yard field with no play clock and no huddles.
Teams will feature 15-man rosters, which will prioritize “younger athletes.”
The league will launch next year with four teams — the Goats along with franchises in Springfield, Missouri; Duluth, Minnesota; and Waterloo, Iowa.
“The excitement bubbling around this team shows with such a great group of local owners stepping forward to lead this team,” Brown said. “This group of individuals possesses all the attributes needed to successfully run a team, both on the field and off the field.”
Tickets packages are on sale now.
The league will be separate from the Arena Football League, which announced plans in February 2023 to relaunch after ceasing operations in November 2019, and the National Arena League.
Kansas City has been home to arena football before.
The Kansas City Brigade operated from the T-Mobile Center from 2006-08 before the league suspended operations in 2009.
The rebranded Kansas City Command returned in 2011 before folding after the 2012 season.
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