By Delorean Fleetwood

Grand Island, NE: The Arena League announced yesterday that Grand Island, Nebraska would mark the second of three announced expansion teams for the 2026 TAL season.

“We are very proud to announce Grand Island as one of The Arena League’s newest teams,” TAL Commissioner Tim Brown said yesterday regarding the announcement.

The yet to be announced team will play at the home of the former Indoor Football League team, the Nebraska Danger, at the Heartland Events Center in Eihusen Arena.

The Nebraska Danger were one of the IFL’s best teams in the mid 2010’s, winning the Intense Conference three straight seasons from 2013-15 before falling in the United Bowl (all three times to the former Sioux Falls Storm). They would make it to the Intense Conference Championship Game in 2016 and 2017 before losing to the Spokane Empire and Arizona Rattlers respectively. They made it to the Semi-Finals in their last two years of existence when the league went to a single table format. They lost to the Iowa Barnstormers and Arizona Rattlers respectively, ending their franchise run with seven straight playoff appearences, all making at least the Semi-Final round.

The Danger were one of the league’s best teams in its heyday and while rumors of bringing a team back to the now defunct Champions Indoor Football, or an IFL return, the city of Grand Island now has a new team to cheer for.

The Arena League started as a 6 on 6 league in 2023 before switching to a 7 on 7 format last year, less than the usual 8 man action seen in the indoor and arena game. The Grand Island team will compete against a hey to be named expansion team that has yet to be announced, a newly announced Memphis team that has yet to announce their branding, the Arkansas Diamonds (Hot Springs), Eau Claire Axemen (Wisconsin), Iowa Woo (Waterloo), Ozarks Lunkers (Springfield Missouri), and the St. Joseph Goats (Missouri).

With a new team and new league to root for, Grand Island should once again bring the fans in droves as they did for the Danger back in the day. The new team should have no trouble bringing in local talent or former Huskers who graced the sea of red on Saturday gamedays in Lincoln. Expect TAL Grand Island to compete for a playoff spot in 2026.