BALTIMORE _ The Baltimore Brigade, along with the Arena Football League's other five franchises, have been shut down as the indoor football league assesses its future.
The AFL announced the decision in a statement Tuesday, writing, "Earlier today, the Arena Football League was forced to make the difficult, but necessary decision to close our team services and business operations units in our local markets.
"These closures have resulted in the elimination of various staff positions, and is a direct consequence of the current financial constraints facing the AFL, which include extensive legacy liabilities and a recent multimillion-dollar litigation filed against the League by an insurance carrier that provided coverage for the AFL between 2009 and 2012. Those liabilities, which are all related to prior League operations, severely constrain the League's ability to expand and operate."
The statement added that the league's shareholders "have made significant investments to restructure and re-launch the AFL and make it successful."
The Brigade were founded in 2016 and played their inaugural season in 2017 at the Royal Farms Arena in downtown Baltimore.
The team reached the ArenaBowl, the league's championship game, in 2018, where it lost to the Washington Valor, 69-55. This past season the Brigade finished 7-5, falling to the Albany Empire in the playoffs.
In a statement released Wednesday, Ted Leonsis, who owns the Brigade and Valor, wrote he was "disappointed" with the league's decision.
"We continue to believe in the AFL product _ its fast-paced, high-scoring style of football is perfect for a future where younger viewers digest content via OTT channels and where sports betting becomes an important component to a league's business model," Leonsis wrote.
"The league's business plan called for steady local market expansion in order to develop scale and a national footprint. Unfortunately, the league has struggled to secure enough additional financial investment to execute that plan."
The AFL was launched in 1987 and the league has gone through waves of reconstruction, including canceling the 2009 season after worries about the league's economic model.
