Continental Indoor Soccer League (1994-1996)
Tombstone
Born: November 4, 1993 – CISL expansion franchise11995 Detroit Neon Media Guide
Re-Branded: May 1997 (Detroit Safari)
First Game: June 10, 1994 (L 7-5 vs. Portland Pride)
Last Game: October 8, 1996 (L 12-3 @ Monterrey La Raza)
CISL Championships: None
Arena
The Palace of Auburn Hills (17,960)21995 Detroit Neon Media Guide
Opened: 1988
Demolished: 2020
Branding
Team Colors: Neon Aqua, Neon Red & Neon Purple31995 Detroit Neon Media Guide
Ownership
Owner: William Davidson
Background
The Detroit Neon indoor soccer team was owned by William Davidson’s Palace Sports & Entertainment, which also operated the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League in the same building during the 1990’s. Davidson was one of seven NBA owners who invested in the Continental Indoor Soccer League in the mid-1990’s as a means of filling arena dates during the slow summer months. (Perhaps not coincidentally, the CISL folded one year after the formation of the Women’s National Basketball Association, which served a similar purpose among the same small group of investors).
Like the Vipers, the Neon derived their name from a title sponsorship with Chrysler Corporation, which introduced the Neon subcompact car the same year that the Neon debuted in 1994. During the Neon’s first season, the club topped the 14-team CISL in attendance with an announced average of 9,379 per game. The team remained one of the better draws in the league during its existence, despite being absolutely dreadful. The Neon twice had the worst record in the CISL and posted a 32-80 record over four seasons of play.
The team’s naming rights deal with Chrysler expired after the 1996 season. In May 1997, Palace Sports & Entertainment announced a new title sponsorship with General Motors’ Safari minivan. The club was known as the Detroit Safari for only one season in 1997. The CISL went out of business on December 23, 1997.
In Memoriam
Former Neon forward Paul Kitson passed away on August 25, 2005 at age 49.
Forward Ken Snow (Neon ’95-’96) died on June 21, 2020 at age 50 from COVID-19 complications. ESPN.com obituary.
Detroit Neon Video
The Neon host the Washington Warthogs at the Palace on October 1st, 1995.
Links
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One Response
The announcer in that video? John Ahlers, now the voice of the Anaheim Ducks.