Arena Football League (2014-2015)
Tombstone
Born: October 2, 2013 – Arena Football expansion team
Folded: January 6, 2016
First Game: March 17, 2014 (L 64-34 vs. San Jose SaberCats)
Last Game: August 14, 2015 (L 55-28 @ San Jose SaberCats)
Arena Bowl Championships: None
Arena
Moda Center (18,280)
Opened: 1995
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Terry Emmert
Background
The short-lived Portland Thunder franchise was the second go round for the Arena Football League in Portland, Oregon. The Thunder followed on the heels of the Portland Forest Dragons, who played in the same Rose Garden/Moda Center arena from 1997 to 1999.
Team founder Terry Emmert is a heavy hauling & transportation baron from suburban Portland. In formal terms, Emmert purchased the franchise rights to the Milwaukee Mustangs, one of the AFL’s countless dormant/failed franchises, in October 2013. Effectively, the Thunder were simply an expansion team, as the Mustangs had been dark for more than a year and no longer possessed any player contracts (though Emmert did get Milwaukee’s old turf carpet). The Thunder also did not adopt the Mustangs’ franchise history. We’ve chosen to classify the Thunder as an expansion team on FWiL.
The Thunder fared poorly in competition, posting back-to-back 5-13 records in 2014 and 2015. Despite finishing last place in their division both years, the Thunder advanced to the postseason each summer thanks to the AFL’s absurb playoff system. They were eliminated in the first round both times.
The 2015 season proved disastrous for the Arena Football League. The league was forced to take over two insolvent clubs, the Las Vegas Outlaws and New Orleans Voodoo, during the season and folded both clubs one day after the regular season ended. (The Thunder were admitted to the 2015 AFL playoffs only because the bankrupt Outlaws couldn’t afford to keep going.) The league champion San Jose Sabercats and the Spokane Shock dropped out in the following months, reducing the league to eight franchises, its smallest membership since 1991.
The End
In late December 2015, Thunder owner Terry Emmert gave a brief interview to The Portland Tribune where he indicated his team had not committed to participating in the 2016 season yet due to disagreements with the Arena Football League over player insurance and other topics. Less than a week later, the AFL stepped in and seized the Portland franchise from Emmert, kicking the recalcitrant owner out of the league.
Emmert owned the trademarks to the Thunder name and logo. So the league had to re-brand the franchise as the Portland Steel in February 2016. The Steel played one grim and rudderless season before the Arena Football League folded the franchise in October 2016.
Portland Thunder Video
2015 Portland Thunder Moda Center pump/intro video
May 16, 2015 full game vs L.A. Kiss at Moda Center
Downloads
2014 Portland Thunder Media Guide
2014 Portand Thunder Media Guide
Links
Arena Football League Media Guides
Arena Football League Programs
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