The Foster Trophy
The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site. ArenaBowl XXII, the last ArenaBowl before the original AFL's demise, took place on July 27, 2008, in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the American Conference champion San Jose SaberCats facing the National Conference champion Philadelphia Soul. The Soul won the game, 59-56.
The ArenaBowl, its trophy and all related intellectual property were purchased by Arena Football on December 7, 2009, along with the rest of the assets of the original AFL.[1] Arena Football 1 eventually assumed the AFL identity, and later announced that the ArenaBowl would be the new AFL's championship game. The new AFL would assume all of the past ArenaBowl games and start off with ArenaBowl XXIII.[2]
The current ArenaBowl Champions are the Spokane Shock, who incidentally were the final ArenaCup champions of the AF2 in 2009.
After ArenaBowl XXIII, it was revealed that future ArenaBowls would again be hosted at neutral sites starting with ArenaBowl XXIV.[3]
Results[]
| Game | Year | Winning Team | Losing Team | Site | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArenaBowl I | 1987 | Denver Dynamite | 45 | Pittsburgh Gladiators | 16 | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | 13,232 |
| ArenaBowl II | 1988 | Detroit Drive | 24 | Chicago Bruisers | 13 | Rosemont Horizon | 15,018 |
| ArenaBowl III | 1989 | Detroit Drive | 39 | Pittsburgh Gladiators | 26 | Joe Louis Arena | 12,046 |
| ArenaBowl IV | 1990 | Detroit Drive | 51 | Dallas Texans | 27 | Joe Louis Arena | 19,875 |
| ArenaBowl V | 1991 | Tampa Bay Storm | 48 | Detroit Drive | 42 | Joe Louis Arena | 20,357 |
| ArenaBowl VI | 1992 | Detroit Drive | 56 | Orlando Predators | 38 | Amway Arena | 13,680 |
| ArenaBowl VII | 1993 | Tampa Bay Storm | 51 | Detroit Drive | 31 | Joe Louis Arena | 12,989 |
| ArenaBowl VIII | 1994 | Arizona Rattlers | 36 | Orlando Predators | 31 | Amway Arena | 14,368 |
| ArenaBowl IX | 1995 | Tampa Bay Storm | 48 | Orlando Predators | 35 | ThunderDome | 25,087 |
| ArenaBowl X | 1996 | Tampa Bay Storm | 42 | Iowa Barnstormers | 38 | Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium | 11,411 |
| ArenaBowl XI | 1997 | Arizona Rattlers | 55 | Iowa Barnstormers | 33 | America West Arena | 17,436 |
| ArenaBowl XII | 1998 | Orlando Predators | 62 | Tampa Bay Storm | 31 | Ice Palace | 17,222 |
| ArenaBowl XIII | 1999 | Albany Firebirds | 59 | Orlando Predators | 48 | Pepsi Arena | 13,652 |
| ArenaBowl XIV | 2000 | Orlando Predators | 41 | Nashville Kats | 38 | TD Waterhouse Centre | 15,989 |
| ArenaBowl XV | 2001 | Grand Rapids Rampage | 64 | Nashville Kats | 42 | Van Andel Arena | 11,217 |
| ArenaBowl XVI | 2002 | San Jose SaberCats | 52 | Arizona Rattlers | 14 | HP Pavilion at San Jose | 16,942 |
| ArenaBowl XVII | 2003 | Tampa Bay Storm | 43 | Arizona Rattlers | 29 | St. Pete Times Forum | 20,469 |
| ArenaBowl XVIII | 2004 | San Jose SaberCats | 69 | Arizona Rattlers | 62 | America West Arena | 17,391 |
| ArenaBowl XIX | 2005 | Colorado Crush | 51 | Georgia Force | 48 | Thomas & Mack Center | 10,822 |
| ArenaBowl XX | 2006 | Chicago Rush | 69 | Orlando Predators | 61 | Thomas & Mack Center | 13,476 |
| ArenaBowl XXI | 2007 | San Jose SaberCats | 55 | Columbus Destroyers | 33 | New Orleans Arena | 17,056 |
| ArenaBowl XXII | 2008 | Philadelphia Soul | 59 | San Jose SaberCats | 56 | New Orleans Arena | 17,244 |
| ArenaBowl XXIII | 2010 | Spokane Shock | 69 | Tampa Bay Storm | 57 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | 11,017 |
| ArenaBowl XXIV | 2011 | TBD | -- | TBD | -- | TBD | -- |
- The Pittsburgh Gladiators relocated in 1991 to become the Tampa Bay Storm.
- The Nashville Kats relocated in 2002 to become the Georgia Force. The Kats were brought back as an expansion team in 2005 and assumed all former team history up to the point when the original Kats relocated to Georgia. The Force are regarded as a completely separate team and keep records from their establishment in 2002 to the present, similar to the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens situation in the NFL.
Most championships won[]
| Team | Championships | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Storm | 5 | 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003 |
| Detroit Drive | 4 | 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 3 | 2002, 2004, 2007 |
| Arizona Rattlers | 2 | 1994, 1997 |
| Orlando Predators | 2 | 1998, 2000 |
| Chicago Rush | 1 | 2006 |
| Colorado Crush | 1 | 2005 |
| Denver Dynamite | 1 | 1987 |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 2001 |
| Albany Firebirds | 1 | 1999 |
| Philadelphia Soul | 1 | 2008 |
| Spokane Shock | 1 | 2010 |
Standings[]
| Team | W- | L- | PCT. | PF | PA | Last Appearance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active franchises | |||||||
| Tampa Bay Storm* | 5 | 4 | .555 | 362 | 390 | 2010 | |
| Orlando Predators | 2 | 5 | .286 | 316 | 337 | 2006 | |
| San Jose Sabercats | 3 | 1 | .750 | 232 | 168 | 2008 | |
| Arizona Rattlers | 2 | 3 | .400 | 196 | 228 | 2004 | |
| Chicago Rush | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 69 | 61 | 2006 | |
| Spokane Shock | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 69 | 57 | 2010 | |
| Philadelphia Soul | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 59 | 56 | 2008 | |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 0 | 2 | .000 | 71 | 97 | 1997 | |
| Georgia Force | 0 | 1 | .000 | 48 | 51 | 2005 | |
| Defunct franchises | |||||||
| Columbus Destroyers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 33 | 55 | 2007 | |
| Nashville Kats | 0 | 2 | .000 | 80 | 105 | 2001 | |
| Colorado Crush | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 51 | 48 | 2005 | |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 64 | 42 | 2001 | |
| Albany Firebirds | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 59 | 48 | 1999 | |
| Denver Dynamite | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 45 | 16 | 1987 | |
| Detroit Drive | 4 | 2 | .667 | 243 | 203 | 1993 | |
| Chicago Bruisers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 24 | 1988 | |
| Dallas Texans | 0 | 1 | .000 | 27 | 51 | 1990 | |
*includes two appearances as Pittsburgh Gladiators (0-2, 42 points, 84 points allowed)