August 23, 2018
The Arena Football League is moving its headquarters to Philadelphia next month, the league announced Thursday. It will be headquartered at the PNC Building at 1600 Market Street.
The league has been based in Las Vegas, Nev. since 2015; before that, it was in Chicago, Ill. for 25 years, excluding a one-year stop in Tulsa, Ok.
A press release from the AFL says the league will be led by Ron Jaworski, former Eagles quarterback and a majority owner of the AFL’s Philadelphia Soul.
“I’ve been part of this league for a long time and I have never been more excited about the people involved and the opportunities that lie ahead for the Arena Football League, and about the offices being moved to the city I have poured my heart into for many years,” Jaworksi said in the release.
The 2019 season will be the AFL’s 32nd since its inception in 1987. The 2018 campaign was a tough one for the league, featuring just four teams after years of contractions and sinking attendance.
Interestingly enough, the league’s sights seem set on expansion in the next few years. Jaworski said in a story from the Press of Atlantic City earlier this month that he believes a new team located in Atlantic City is almost a foregone conclusion.
“It’s going to happen,” he said at the time.
The league’s average attendance in the 2018 season was just 7,601, the lowest mark since 1989.
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