Professional football is coming to Austin. Where the team will play remains a mystery
Austin will have professional football again starting in April.
The Arena Football League announced its return on its official Twitter account Tuesday, with Austin being the site of one of the league’s 16 teams.
Details on where the team will play — the Moody Center or H-E-B Center would presumably be the most likely options — its nickname or ownership group were not given, but the league will play a 10-game regular season with playoffs.
This will be the second stint for the AFL in Austin. The Austin Wranglers played for five seasons at the Erwin Center from 2004-08.
According to Tuesday's announcement, there also will be a team in “West Texas.” TMZ Sports and journalist Ari Meirov both reported the team will be in Odessa.
Other cities with teams are Bakersfield, Boise, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Louis, St. Paul, Tallahassee, Lake Charles, Salem, Ore. and Everett, Wash.
The Arena Football League began in 1987, arguably peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s and struggled financially until its most recent season in 2019.
It announced its plan to return in 2024 on Feb. 1.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin will be part of the AFL again when the league returns in April
