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Wheeling, WV: A new era in the Wheeling Miners arena football organization is about to take shape, as the team announced via their Facebook page that a press conference will be held at their home venue of Wes Banco Arena 11am Friday, June 21st.

The Miners, who originally started out as members of the American Indoor Football (AIF) 2024 revival, quickly rescinded their membership and signed an agreement with the American Arena League 2, the AAL’s development league. The Miners have enjoyed tremendous success on and off the field in their inagural 2024 campaign. Their broadcast crew have also been incredible, offering a very unique camera angle and aspect during their live feed of the games at Wes Banco. As of today, the Miners are facing off against the defending AAL 2 champions, the Jersey Bearcats, at Wes Banco Arena on Saturday in the North Division Championship. The Miners defeated Jersey back in May 42-32 at home earlier this season.

As for what league the Miners will enter next season, there are a few options on the table. The National Arena League is one option being thrown around amongst the indoor football fandom. While the nearest team would be the Carolina Cobras out in Greensboro, NC, they, too, would be on an island against the likes of Omaha, Sioux City, Colorado, and Idaho. Other expansion options would need to materialize to cut down on the travel the Miners would make. The Indoor Football League is probably the best option for the Miners to take if they want to bring their talents to the next level and face off against the very best the game of indoor football has to offer. While they would have nearby options with a new expansion team in Fishers, Indiana nearby (along with Massachusetts and Green Bay as the next closest), the game of indoor football differs from the current arena style of play the team is used to playing as of now. The third option might be to go back to the AIF. While this one would certainly raise a few eyebrows, the AIF has a nearby team in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The league has also shown to be unstable since their revival in 2024. Given the timing of the announcement and the NAL Bowl having just been played on Saturday, June 15th, the NAL would seem like the most likely scenario for the Miners in 2025 and beyond. However, this sport is never without its surprises, so at this point, anything and everything should be considered on the table until they make their announcement Friday morning.

One thing is for sure, Wheeling has given the fans and community a great product to be proud of and should be excited to see their Miners dig new ground for the future of their organization. Like a miner who discovered new ore, more is always to be found.