The Arena Football League is returning in 2024. Will the Iowa Barnstormers be part of it?
When the Arena Football League returns to action in 2024, the 16-team field will not include one of its most famous franchises.
Iowa Barnstormers owner and president Jeff Lamberti said in an email to the Des Moines Register that the team is “not interested in pursuing anything” in the latest revival of the AFL.
The AFL announced on its official Twitter feed earlier this month that it would return to action in 2024 with 16 new franchises from unnamed sites.
Despite AFL history with Kurt Warner, Barnstormers stay with IFL
The Barnstormers, now members of the Indoor Football League, are happy where they are, Lamberti said in the email.
“We are very happy with the IFL and are pleased with the partners we have in this league,” he said. “The IFL has never been stronger, and we expect to continue to grow the league in the coming years.”
The Barnstormers joined the AFL in 1995 and quickly became one of the most popular teams in the league’s history thanks to the play of quarterback Kurt Warner.
Warner, of Cedar Rapids, couldn’t land a job in the NFL and went back to Iowa to stock shelves at a grocery store. Then he started playing for the Barnstormers. HIs success in Des Moines helped land him in the NFL where he became a superstar and eventual Hall of Famer.
More:‘Clean up on Aisle 2’: Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning stock Hy-Vee shelves in Cedar Falls on ESPN+ show
AFL returns after economic struggles
The league and the Barnstormers struggled in the years after Warner's departure. Following the 2010 season, the Barnstormers were sold and moved to New York. The Barnstormers eventually returned as part of the AF2 and the AFL.
The Barnstormers struggled to keep up with other members of the league as the smallest-market team in the AFL and joined the IFL in 2015. The AFL had its own financial issues and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before ceasing operations in 2019.
Lamberti said he’s not seen changes to the economic model for the AFL that has already failed multiple times since its inception. The Barnstormers have had success on and off the field since joining the IFL, winning the United Bowl Championship in 2018.
“As you know, the old AFL failed twice and I believe it was primarily as a result of an economic model that did not work,” Lamberti wrote. “That is why we left the AFL to join the IFL. With that said, competition is something that we keep an eye on, so we will be watching this as well. I do expect the IFL to remain the premier indoor football league.”
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: The AFL will return in 2024, but the Iowa Barnstormers remain with IFL
