2011 Arena Football League season

The 2011 Arena Football League season will be the twenty-fourth season in the history of the league. The regular season will begin on March 11, 2011 and end on July 23, 2011, with ArenaBowl XXIV being played in August 2011 to conclude the playoffs.

Teams
Three franchises that competed in the 2008 season, the Philadelphia Soul, San Jose SaberCats, and Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade), will return to competition in the 2011 season, an announcement made on June 19, 2010.

Two teams that competed in 2010 have relocated and have assumed the history of former AFL franchises. It was announced on August 21, 2010 that the Alabama Vipers would become the Georgia Force, and on September 14, 2010 it was revealed that the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings would become the New Orleans VooDoo.

The Milwaukee Iron officially changed its name to the Milwaukee Mustangs on January 27, 2011, taking the name of the original franchise.

The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was awarded an expansion team on August 20, 2010. The team, named the Pittsburgh Power, is the first AFL team to call Pittsburgh home since the Pittsburgh Gladiators, one of the league's four original franchises. The Gladiators moved to Tampa, Florida and became the Tampa Bay Storm after the 1990 season.

The only team not returning from the 2010 season is the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. Owner Phil Miller made the announcement on October 21, 2010, citing an inability to find minority investors as one reason for the decision to not compete.

Realignment
With several teams relocating, returning, or leaving, the AFL announced the divisional alignment for 2011 on October 21, 2010. Both conferences will each have nine teams placed in two divisions.

Regular season schedule
Each team will play an 18-game regular season with two bye weeks over the course of 20 weeks. Each team will play every team in its division twice, and every team in its conference once. It is the longest schedule in the history of the league. The first game of the season will be played on March 11, 2011. The Pittsburgh Power will begin their inaugural season against the Philadelphia Soul, who are playing their first game since winning ArenaBowl XXII in 2008.