NW pro indoor football conference announces C.O. team: the High Desert Storm
Hopes to launch play in 2021 at First Interstate Bank Center in Redmond (2022 if COVID-19 issues continue)
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The American West Football Conference announced Tuesday it has approved a new professional indoor franchise to be located in Central Oregon.
Here's the rest of the news release from the organization:
The new AWFC team, named the Oregon High Desert Storm, will be brought to you by Platinum Events & Security LLC, an Idaho-based limited liability corporation.
The AWFC & the Oregon High Desert Storm ownership are currently in discussions with the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center to eventually call the First Interstate Bank Center home for the 2021 season and beyond. The First Interstate Bank Center is a 4,000-seat indoor arena located in Redmond.
The High Desert Storm will be taking a grassroots approach to bring pro football to the High Desert area. While a number of upgrades will be necessary to the First Interstate Bank Center prior to play, a planned buildout will accommodate the needs of a professional AWFC indoor football team. Planned upgrades include the arrival of a temporary turf field, dasher boards and goal post, which would also be required before the team could begin play.
The AWFC and the High Desert Storm, in conjunction with Deschutes County Fair & Expo officials, are working on a plan to provide these needed items for a successfully launch as part of the 2021 American West Football Conference season. While the team plans to begin play for the 2021 season, due to unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AWFC may be forced to leave room to have its inaugural High Desert season in 2022, if necessary.
“Our goal is to build a community-based team, where the surrounding community can attend an affordable source of family-friendly entertainment. We chose Central Oregon due to the great community and venue that appears to be a perfect fit for indoor football. We are excited to bring professional indoor football to this great community, and look forward to beginning play as early as the 2021 season” said Chris Reynolds, chairman of the AWFC.
The AWFC provides a platform for former collegiate athletes who have exhausted their college eligibility and fell short of a NFL/CFL/XFL opportunity to continue striving for that opportunity of reaching the next level.
The High Desert Storm will host their first tryout on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 at the Deschutes County Expo located 3800 SW, SE Airport Way in Redmond. This will be a closed tryout, and registration & times will be online only at www.oregonstorm.com. Additional tryout dates and times will be announced soon.
The High Desert Storm are currently in search of interns/volunteers who would love to gain experience working for a professional organization. Those interested may send resume to info@oregonstorm.com to become a part of the newest professional team in Oregon.
The American West Football Conference plans to return for 2021, with the league opener kicking off mid-March. The current teams in the league are the Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks (Wenatchee, WA), Yakima Canines (Yakima, WA) and last year's undefeated champions, the 13-0 Idaho Horsemen (Nampa, Idaho), with possibly more expansion teams coming in. 2021 will be the AWFC sophomore season as 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19.
All the member teams are continuously preparing and striving to play in 2021 through this COVID pandemic, and are working with officials in each community for a return to safe competition as early as health officials deem it safe.
