Dec. 11, 2017
NAL Expansion Team in Portland, Maine Names Team Mammoths
ATLANTA, Ga. — After announcing the arena football league’s expansion franchise in North Carolina, the Carolina Cobras, NAL Expansion team heads to Portland, Maine. The team will play at the Cross Insurance Arena and be called the Maine Mammoths.
Returning franchises include the defending champion, the Jacksonville Sharks, Columbus Lions, and the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks and the previously announced expansion franchises Jersey Flight, Massachusetts Pirates and the Carolina Cobras.
The National Arena League said Portland will join Carolina, Massachusettes and New Jersey in the expansion franchise in 2018. Portland joins Lehigh Valley, New Jersey and Massachusetts as the league’s fourth franchise in the Northeast United States and second in the New England area.
“To be announcing three expansion franchises in less than 60 days is quite an honor but has also been a monumental accomplishment,” said NAL expansion Chairman Jeff Bouchy. “Portland completes our plans for expansion for the 2018 season and allows us to move forward with the release of our NAL schedule. Maine has an untapped potential for a professional football atmosphere and it is no doubt that Portland is the perfect location to bring the state’s first professional football team.”
Matt Herpich, Spectra general manager at the Cross Insurance Arena said, “We are excited to partner with the National Arena League to bring something new to the city of Portland. We are looking forward to continue working well with the league as we prepare for the upcoming season this spring. The Spectra team and the board of trustees for the Cross Insurance Arena continue to push for year round events and becoming the home for the Maine Mammoths does just that.”
The league is expected to unveil the 2018 NAL schedule soon.
For more information visit www.nationalarenaleague.com or www.mainesportscommission.com.
