World Indoor Soccer League (1999-2001)
Tombstone
Born: 1999 – WISL expansion franchise
Folded: December 2001
First Game: July 31, 1999 (W 6-5 @ Portland Pythons)
Last Game: December 2, 2001 (L 7-4 @ St. Louis Steamers)
WISL Championships: None
Arena
E Center
Opened: 1997
Branding
Team Colors: Silver, Blue & Black12000 World Indoor Soccer League Media Guide
Ownership
Owners:
- 1997-1998: David Elmore, Donna Tuttle, Philip Roberts, John Stockton, Ray Specht, Gaylen Jorgensen
- 1999: Non-Profit Organization
Attendance
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Source: 2000 World Indoor Soccer League Media Guide (1999 figures)
Trophy Case
WISL Rookie of the Year
- 1999: Justin Labrum
WISL Defensive Player of the Year
- 2000: Rob Baarts
WISL Coach of the Year
- 2000: Jeff Betts
Background
The sport of indoor soccer spread across the country during the 1980’s and into the early 1990’s. Thanks to organizations like the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the Continental Indoor Soccer League, practically every Major League city in the country had seen one or more indoor soccer teams come through town by 1999.
Salt Lake City, Utah was an exception until the upstart World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) rolled into town at the E Center in West Valley in 1999. WISL officials convinced the owners of the popular Utah Grizzlies minor league hockey team to take a chance on indoor soccer and the Utah Freezz were born. The WISL played a July-November schedule that was (mostly) complementary to ice hockey season. The Grizzlies front office operated the Freezz for the soccer team’s first two seasons. Utah Jazz NBA star John Stockton added a dose of celebrity to the ownership group.
In Competition
Despite its aspirational name, the World Indoor Soccer League was confined mostly to a small group of cities in the western United States plus Monterrey, Mexico. The league’s membership never exceeded seven teams in any one season.
Within this small collection of clubs, the Freezz were solidly competitive. The team advanced to the WISL semi-final in each of its first two seasons, losing single-leg playoffs to the Sacramento Knights in 1999 and the Dallas Sidekicks in 2000.
Utah finished last place in shrunken 5-team WISL during the 2001 season. The Freezz entered the season’s final day with a chance to sneak into the playoffs, but dropped a 7-4 decision on the road to the St. Louis Steamers in what turned out to be the franchise’s final game.
Demise
The Utah Grizzlies hockey team withdrew as the Freezz’s primary financial backer prior to the club’s third season in 2001. The team attempted to re-organize as a not-for-profit organization, but the experiment last only a few months. Immediately after the 2001 season the WISL dissolved. The Dallas, St. Louis and San Diego franchises split off to join a new version of the Major Indoor Soccer League while Sacramento and the Utah Freezz disbanded.
Utah Freezz Shop
Links
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