The Tri-Cities Fire were a professional indoor football team based out of Kennewick, Washington, with home games at the Toyota Center during the 2019 season.[1] They were owned by Kinshasa Martin of Rampage Sports Entertainment, LLC.[2] They folded in February 2020 after playing one season, citing lack of support from sponsors and ticket sales.[3] They were the second arena/indoor team to play in the Tri-City region preceded by the Tri-Cities Fever of the NIFL, af2 and the Indoor Football League and followed by the Tri-City Rush of the AWFC.

Tri-Cities Fire
Established 2018
Folded 2020
Played in Kennewick, Washington
at Toyota Center
GoFireFootball.com
League/conference affiliations
American West Football Conference (2019)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, red, gold, white
       
MascotSparky
Personnel
Owner(s)Rampage Sports Entertainment, LLC
(Kinshasa Martin)
General managerAndy Allord
Head coachKevin Heard
Team history
  • Tri-Cities Fire (2019)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

History

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On October 15, 2018, the American West Football Conference was founded by the Idaho Horsemen and added the Fire and two other teams to the league: the Reno Express, and Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks.[4][5] The Fire were the first indoor football team in the Tri-Cities following the departure of the Tri-Cities Fever of the Indoor Football League in 2016. Despite being announced in October 2018, they were one of the last AWFC teams to sign a lease with the arena in January 2019.[6]

Their season began on March 23, 2019, in a 42–24 loss at Reno. After a 0–5 start to their inaugural season, the Fire fired head coach Warren Reynolds and was replaced by defensive coordinator Kevin Heard.[7] The Fire finished the season losing all twelve games. The team abruptly folded two weeks prior to the planned start of the 2020 season.[8] They would be replaced a year later by the Tri-City Rush.

2019 standings

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Final standings.[9]

2019 American West Football Conference
Team W L PCT PF PA GB STK
yIdaho Horsemen 12 0 1.000 597 331 W12
xWenatchee Valley Skyhawks 6 6 .500 461 381 6 W2
xReno Express 6 6 .500 339 396 W1
Tri-Cities Fire 0 12 .000 303 592 12 L12

y – clinched regular season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

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Semifinal Final
3 Reno Express 20
3 Reno Express 28 1 Idaho Horsemen 40[10][11]
2 Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks 27

References

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  1. ^ "Indoor football team reaches Tri-Cities deal". Tri-City Herald. January 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "Western US based indoor football league forming for 2019". Arena Football Talk. October 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "Tri-Cities Fire Facebook post February 26, 2020". Facebook. February 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE". AWFC Insider. October 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Western US based indoor football league forming for 2019". Arena Football Talk. October 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Indoor football league considers new Tri-City team". Tri-City Herald. December 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "Tri-Cities Fire brings a new coach and a new attitude in quest to get first league win". Tri-City Herald. May 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "THE TRI-CITIES FIRE UN-EXPECTANTLY CLOSES UP SHOP!". AWFC. February 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "AWFC Standings". AWFC. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "Express v Horsemen (first half)". Facebook.
  11. ^ "Express v Horsemen (second half)". Facebook.
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