Folded 2009 Conference American Founded 1999 Based in Peoria | League AF2 Division Midwest Arena Peoria Civic Center | |
 | ||
Owner(s) Doug MacGregor (49%)
Jim Foster Championships 2000, 2002 (af2 ArenaCup) | ||
Peoria pirates vs green bay blizzard highlights
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee and Bruce Cowdrey. The Pirates originally began play as a charter member of the Indoor Football League in 1999.
Contents
- Peoria pirates vs green bay blizzard highlights
- Peoria pirates home opener
- Indoor Football League IFL af2
- United Indoor Football UIF
- af2 return
- 2009 closure
- References
In their existence, the Pirates played in the Indoor Football League (IFL), af2 (twice), and United Indoor Football (UIF). They also won the 2000 IFL Championship. They were also, while in the UIF, known as the Peoria Rough Riders.
Peoria pirates home opener
Indoor Football League (IFL) / af2
The Peoria Pirates were charter members of the Indoor Football League (IFL) and were also the IFL runners-up in 1999 and won the IFL championship in 2000 before their original league folded and the franchise moved over to af2. After the move, the Pirates managed to win ArenaCup III over the Florida Firecats, but couldn't repeat their performance the following year.
United Indoor Football (UIF)
After losing ArenaCup V to the Firecats, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football (UIF) and became the Peoria Rough Riders. Before changing team name (along with their move to the UIF), their name was the Mutineers. However, their IFL and af2 success did not translate with their move to United Indoor Football, as they finished 6–9, then 0–15.
On September 15, 2006, the Rough Riders officially ceased operations.
af2 return
On August 22, 2007, it was announced that a new team would begin playing at Carver Arena, which would, play in af2, assume the old Peoria Pirates name, logo, colors, and history, and have longtime head coach Bruce Cowdrey become head coach once again. The Pirates returned to play in the 2008 af2 season.
2009 closure
The domain of the Pirates official website expired on August 31, 2009. On September 7, 2009, the Pirates announced that they were closing down, would not play in 2010, and were selling off the team equipment later in the week. The team could not provide the required commitment and two $100,000 letters of credit by the af2s September 8 deadline for the 2010 season. Later in the week, the Peoria Journal Star noted that one of the owners of the nearby Bloomington Extreme was interested in assisting with the launch of a new Peoria team as part of a new Midwest division for the Indoor Football League.
