Is Shreveport About to Get an Arena Football Franchise?
The Shreveport and Bossier City area may be back in the football business.
According to some recent online activity, The National Gridiron League could be coming to the Shreveport area very soon. The National Gridiron League is an indoor football league, very similar to the Arena Football Leagues that were formerly represented in the Shreveport and Bossier Area by the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings.
Posts have recently popped up on local job boards for the position of "Arena Football Professional", and some of the job duties listed include:
- Prepare for games through practices, drills, film study, and other sessions as directed by the team
- Study and learn playbook, formation, and terminology for plays and offensive, defensive, and specialized schemes
- Execute plays or defense as instructed or taught by coaches
The post sounds like they're looking to hire players in Shreveport. By the way, the pay listed is $20,000 a year.
Additionally, postings on the National Gridiron League's official website say that the league is looking to expand to Shreveport.
There are currently 12 teams in the NGL, including teams in Little Rock, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Jackson, MS, and Atlanta. The league stretches into the Northeast and Midwest as well, with franchises in Pennsylvania and Indiana.
However, the 2019 season was canceled by the league, as they said they're focusing on the 2020 season.
It's been almost a decade since the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings folded. The franchise ended in 2010, and were moved to New Orleans where they became the New Orleans VooDoo. The franchise competed in the af2 league from 2001-2009, before moving into the main Arena Football League in 2010. They made the playoffs in two seasons, 2008 and 2009, while playing their games at the CenturyTel Center (now CenturyLink Center) in Bossier City.