Editing AF2 (section)

==Teams==
[[Image:Af2-USA-states.png|right|450px]]
{{See also|Defunct AF2 teams}}
The league's teams were divided into two conferences, the American and National Conferences.  The conferences were further subdivided into three divisions each.  Each division represented a region of the country in which teams played.  Unlike most sports leagues, the alignment of teams into divisions was not even; in 2009, the Central division featured three teams while the West featured five teams.  Teams were placed in divisions based on geographic rivalries to reduce travel costs as teams played division opponents more often than non-divisional opponents.  Alignment was subject to change each year as new teams joined the league and others dropped out.

Because of legal issues regarding the bankruptcy and subsequent dissolution of the original Arena Football League, no team committed to continue with arenafootball2 operations.  This list is the final alignment of AF2 at the end of the 2009 season.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
! Division
! Team
! City
! Arena
! Founded
! First AF2 season
|-
! style=background-color:#b8262b colspan=6 | <span style="color:white;">American Conference</span>
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | East
| '''[[Albany Firebirds (af2)|Albany Firebirds]]'''
| [[Albany, New York]]
| [[Times Union Center]]
| align=center | 2001
| align=center | 2002
|-
| '''[[Mahoning Valley Thunder]]'''
| [[Youngstown, Ohio]]
| [[Covelli Centre]]
| align=center | 2006
| align=center | 2007
|-
| '''[[Manchester Wolves]]'''
| [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]
| [[Verizon Wireless Arena]]
| align=center | 2001
| align=center | 2002
|-
| '''[[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers]]'''
| [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]]
| [[Wachovia Arena]]
| align=center | 2001
| align=center | 2002
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=5 | Midwest
| '''[[Green Bay Blizzard]]'''
| [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]]
| [[Resch Center]]
| align=center | 2002
| align=center | 2003
|-
| '''[[Iowa Barnstormers]]'''
| [[Des Moines, Iowa]]
| [[Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa)|Wells Fargo Arena]]
| align=center | 2000
| align=center | 2001
|-
| '''[[Milwaukee Iron]]'''
| [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
| [[Bradley Center]]
| align=center | 2008
| align=center | 2009
|-
| '''[[Peoria Pirates]]'''
| [[Peoria, Illinois]]
| [[Peoria Civic Center]]
| align=center | 1998
| align=center | 2001
|-
| '''[[Quad City Steamwheelers]]'''
| [[Moline, Illinois]]
| [[iWireless Center]]
| align=center | 1999
| align=center | 2000
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | South
| '''[[Florida Firecats]]'''
| [[Estero, Florida]]
| [[Germain Arena]]
| align=center | 2000
| align=center | 2001
|-
| '''[[Kentucky Horsemen]]'''
| [[Lexington, Kentucky]]
| [[Rupp Arena]]
| align=center | 2002
| align=center | 2008
|-
| '''[[South Georgia Wildcats]]'''
| [[Albany, Georgia]]
| [[Albany Civic Center]]
| align=center | 2001
| align=center | 2002
|-
| '''[[Tennessee Valley Vipers]]'''
| [[Huntsville, Alabama]]
| [[Von Braun Center]]
| align=center | 1999
| align=center | 2000
|-
! style=background-color:#002052 colspan=6 | <span style="color:white;">National Conference</span>
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=3 | Central
| '''[[Amarillo Venom|Amarillo Dusters]]'''
| [[Amarillo, Texas]]
| [[Amarillo Civic Center]]
| align=center | 2003
| align=center | 2005
|-
| '''[[Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz]]'''
| [[Oklahoma City]]
| [[Ford Center (Oklahoma City)|Ford Center]]
| align=center | 2003
| align=center | 2004
|-
| '''[[Tulsa Talons]]'''
| [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]
| [[BOK Center]]
| align=center | 1999
| align=center | 2000
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | Southwest
| '''[[Allen Wranglers|Arkansas Twisters]]'''
| [[North Little Rock, Arkansas]]
| [[Verizon Arena]]
| align=center | 1999
| align=center | 2000
|-
| '''[[Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings]]'''
| [[Bossier City, Louisiana]]
| [[CenturyTel Center]]
| align=center | 2000
| align=center | 2001
|-
| '''[[Corpus Christi Sharks]]'''
| [[Corpus Christi, Texas]]
| [[American Bank Center]]
| align=center | 2006
| align=center | 2007
|-
| '''[[Rio Grande Valley Dorados]]'''
| [[Hidalgo, Texas]]
| [[State Farm Arena (Hidalgo, Texas)|Dodge Arena]]
| align=center | 2003
| align=center | 2004
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=5 | West
| '''[[Boise Burn]]'''
| [[Boise, Idaho]]
| [[CenturyLink Arena Boise|Qwest Arena]]
| align=center | 2006
| align=center | 2007
|-
| '''[[Central Valley Coyotes]]'''
| [[Fresno, California]]
| [[Selland Arena]]
| align=center | 2001
| align=center | 2002
|-
| '''[[Spokane Shock]]'''
| [[Spokane, Washington]]
| [[Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena]]
| align=center | 2005
| align=center | 2006
|-
| '''[[Stockton Lightning]]'''
| [[Stockton, California]]
| [[Stockton Arena]]
| align=center | 2005
| align=center | 2006
|-
| '''[[Tri-Cities Fever]]'''
| [[Kennewick, Washington]]
| [[Toyota Center (Kennewick)|Toyota Center]]
| align=center | 2004
| align=center | 2007
|}

===League expansion===
In a June 2003 interview with ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', AFL commissioner [[C. David Baker|David Baker]] briefly mentioned the AF2, saying how one day he envisioned the league growing to 100 teams. The AF2 started off with 15 teams in 2000, then expanded to 28 teams in 2001, and finally to 34 in 2002.  The number of teams the league fielded dropped every year from there on after, until the 2006 season; 27 teams were fielded in 2003, 25 in 2004, and 20 in 2005.  Finally, in 2006, the AF2 saw its first expansion in four years, fielding 23 teams, and continued that into 2007 with 30 teams.

The drop in teams between 2002 and 2006 could be partially attributed to the league expanding too rapidly in its first three seasons.  Many teams were financially unstable and [[Defunct AF2 teams|folded]]. This could have been at least in large measure due to higher expenses, even compared to those of similar leagues.  Franchise fees in the league ranged from $600,000 to $1 million.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Lowe |title=Arena football discussed |url=http://sports.mainetoday.com/pirates/stories/060901arenafootbal.shtml |work=[[Portland Press Herald]] |date=2006-09-01 |access-date=2007-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210045735/http://sports.mainetoday.com/pirates/stories/060901arenafootbal.shtml |archive-date=10 February 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Historically, massive sports league expansions have had little success, either in indoor football or other sports.  For instance, the [[National Indoor Football League]], a rival indoor league, saw large numbers of expansion teams after beginning play in 2001 but many struggled financially and played only briefly, incurring considerable financial losses before folding.  In more recent years, the [[American Basketball Association (2000–present)|American Basketball Association]] has exhibited the same situation to an even greater degree.

Nine new expansion teams were approved for 2007 in the AF2: the [[Boise Burn]], the [[Cincinnati Jungle Kats]], the [[Fort Wayne Fusion]], the [[Laredo Lobos]], the [[Lubbock Renegades]], the [[Mahoning Valley Thunder]], the [[Texas Copperheads]], the [[Tri-Cities Fever]], and the [[Corpus Christi Sharks]].  The Texas, Laredo, and Tri-Cities teams moved to the AF2 from other indoor football leagues.  For the 2007 season, the league fielded 30 teams.  After the 2007 season, three of those teams folded, the [[Fort Wayne Fusion]], the [[Cincinnati Jungle Kats]], and the [[Laredo Lobos]]. The [[Everett Hawks]], [[Alabama Steeldogs]], and the [[Bakersfield Blitz]] also ceased operations.

For 2008, the league fielded one team fewer, at 29.  Two teams were reactivated: the [[Iowa Barnstormers]] and the [[Peoria Pirates]], and the league admitted three new teams that were transferring from other leagues.  The [[Lexington Horsemen]] came from [[United Indoor Football|UIF]]; the [[Daytona Beach ThunderBirds]], from the [[World Indoor Football League (2007)|WIFL]], and the [[Austin Wranglers]] moved down from the [[Arena Football League|AFL]]. After the season, [[Austin Wranglers|Austin]] and [[Daytona Beach ThunderBirds|Daytona Beach]] folded, along with [[Louisville Fire|Louisville]], [[Lubbock Renegades|Lubbock]], and [[Texas Copperheads|Texas]]. The league was expected to expand to [[Toledo, Ohio]] and [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] by 2011.

===Continuing teams===

When AF2 folded, some teams joined the AF2 Board of Directors in forming the new "Arena Football 1" that soon became the new Arena Football League. Iowa, Milwaukee, Tennessee Valley (which changed its name to Alabama to reflect the state, rather than the region), Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Bossier-Shreveport, and Spokane all moved to the new AFL to join "old" AFL teams Arizona, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Cleveland, along with expansion teams in Dallas and Jacksonville, and the [[American Indoor Football]] team in Utah that had also been in the old AFL. Kentucky, Tri-Cities, and Arkansas also committed to the new league, but Kentucky folded, and Tri-Cities and Arkansas followed Green Bay and Amarillo to the [[Indoor Football League]].  Albany did not play in 2010 while seeking an expansion into the "new" AFL in 2011, along with a planned addition in Toledo.

By the conclusion of the [[2015 Arena Football League season|2015 AFL Season]], none of the seven AF2 franchises that moved into the AFL remained in the league. The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz ceased operations after the 2010 season. In the 2011 season, the Alabama Vipers relocated to [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|suburban Atlanta]] and assumed the identity and history of the former [[Georgia Force]] before folding after the 2012 season, while the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings moved to [[New Orleans]] and became a continuation of the [[New Orleans VooDoo|VooDoo]] and then ceased operations after the 2015 season.<ref name=VooDoo_folding>{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/080915aad.html |title=VooDoo, Outlaws Cease Operations |publisher=Arena Football League |work=www.arenafootballleague.com |date=August 9, 2015 |access-date=August 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811220131/http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/080915aad.html |archive-date=2015-08-11 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The Milwaukee Iron rebranded itself in 2011 as the Mustangs, adopting the name of a [[Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001)|previous Milwaukee team]]. Tulsa relocated to San Antonio before the start of the 2012 season, retaining the Talons' name and history and folded after the 2014 season. Milwaukee suspended operations for the 2013 season, and the team relocated to [[Portland, Oregon]] for the 2014 season, becoming the [[Portland Thunder]], later renamed the [[Portland Steel|Steel]] before ultimately folding after the 2016 AFL season.<ref name="AFL Portland">{{cite web|title=Arena Football to Return to Portland in 2014|url=http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/100913aac.html|publisher=Arena Football League|access-date=2013-10-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019095737/http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/100913aac.html|archive-date=2013-10-19|url-status=usurped}}</ref> After the 2014 AFL season, the Iowa Barnstormers changed leagues from the AFL to the Indoor Football League. After the conclusion of the 2015 season, the last AF2 team remaining in the AFL, the Spokane Shock, joined the Barnstormers in the IFL as the [[Spokane Empire]], and then also folded in 2017.

After the conclusion of the [[2019 Arena Football League season|2019 AFL season]], the Arena Football League filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations in November 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gleeson |first1=Scott |title=Arena Football League files for bankruptcy, ceases all operations |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/11/27/arena-football-league-declares-bankruptcy-shuts-down/4322126002/ |access-date=April 24, 2020 |work=USA Today |date=November 27, 2019}}</ref>