Muskegon Thunder moving to DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids
By Tom Kendra | Muskegon Chronicle
November 04, 2009, 11:00AM

The Thunderdome is moving 45 miles to the east.

The Muskegon Thunder professional indoor football team, which has played the past three years at the L.C. Walker Arena in downtown Muskegon, announced at a press conference this morning that it is moving to the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids for the upcoming season.

The team will be renamed the West Michigan ThunderHawks.

“It’s exciting to be going to a bigger area, but it’s kind of sad,” said Don Pringle of Fruitport, who owns the Indoor Football League franchise along with his wife, Julia. “We wanted to make it work in Muskegon and we had loyal fans, but not enough of them. We hope to keep those fans and bring in a whole new fan base.”

Pringle said one of the reasons for the move was to fill the arena football void in Grand Rapids after the Arena Football League folded last year. He hopes that many of the Rampage fans will support the ThunderHawks, who play in the Indoor Football League — a lower level of indoor football which plays the same 7-on-7 game made popular in the Arena League. (* incorrect - IFL is 8 on 8 with 2 motion men)

Rod Miller, an assistant coach with the Rampage, was announced as the ThunderHawks head coach on Wednesday.

The IFL plans to release its 2010 schedule by the end of the month, but Pringle expects to play a 13-game schedule running from March to June or July, likely with six home games.

The team began play at the Walker Arena in the spring of 2007 with crowds of more than 4,000 fans for its first two games, but the numbers dwindled steadily.

Last season was full of turmoil on and off the field.

The season began with tragedy as Adam Pringle, one of the team’s owners and the starting noseguard, was killed in a January snowmobile accident.

At that point, Don and Julia Pringle, Adam’s parents, briefly considered not continuing for the upcoming season, having to deal with the loss of their only child and the financial losses of the first two seasons. Ultimately, the Pringles decided to go forward.

The Thunder — which made the playoffs in its first two seasons in the Continental Indoor Football League, finishing 4-9 in 2007 and 5-8 in 2008 — struggled from the start in the bigger IFL last spring. The team finished 1-12, went through three different head coaches and a variety of different quarterbacks in an attempt to turn things around and regularly played in front of crowds as small as 500 by season’s end.

The Pringles knew they could not continue with the status quo.

“We knew we had to do something to bring in more fans and with the Rampage not in Grand Rapids any more, there was a void for indoor football,” said Julia Pringle.

The Thunder organization discovered that it was difficult, especially in tough economic times, to compete for fans with the established Muskegon professional hockey franchise, which is celebrating its 50th consecutive year of professional hockey in Muskegon — the fourth-longest streak in the United States.

“We found that, especially right now, there are only so many entertainment dollars to go around in Muskegon,” said Julia Pringle. “The Lumberjacks are established and have a great core group of fans and it’s hard for a new team to break in. We needed to move for business reasons.”

The Thunder were the second attempt in recent years to bring a second professional sports team to Muskegon.

The Michigan Mayhem of the Continental Basketball Association played at the Walker Arena in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons but, like the Thunder, could not sustain its early enthusiasm. The Mayhem folded after the 2006 season.

The Pringles were hopeful that things would be different with football, as the Muskegon area is recognized as one of the best areas in the state for high school football, with Muskegon County teams winning four of the state’s eight state football championships last fall. That success never carried over to the indoor game.

“It was ultimately a numbers game,” said Don Pringle, who has battled health issues over the past two years. “We live in Fruitport and love the area. This is a way to keep indoor football close and also for us to bring in more fans.”

The DeltaPlex, located on the northwest side of Grand Rapids at 2500 Turner, is a mid-sized arena similar in size to the Walker Arena. The DeltaPlex seats about 4,400 for arena football, slightly less than the Walker Arena.

The IFL started last year after the merger of the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. The league, which had 17 teams last season, is one of three major leagues for indoor football, along with the American Indoor Football Association and the newly-created Arena Football 1.

Indoor Football League Franchise Changing Name and Address
November 4, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL) West Michigan Thunderhawks

Grand Rapids, Michigan - It was announced today that effective immediately, the professional indoor football franchise formerly known as the Muskegon Thunder have relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan and will be renamed the West Michigan ThunderHawks. A press conference was held at the team's new playing facility, the DeltaPlex Arena and Conference Center, located at 2500 Turner Ave. NW, to reveal the breaking news.

The ThunderHawks will begin their fourth year of operation when the Indoor Football League's 2010 14-game regular season kicks off in March of next year. The team returns to the IFL for the second straight season after spending their first two campaigns in the Continental Indoor Football League.

"We are extremely excited about the future of our organization in light of today's announcement," said Bob Eacker, director of media relations for the ThunderHawks. "The DeltaPlex Arena is a first-class facility where fans will get an up-close and personal view of all the hard-hitting action on the field."

The IFL features 8-on-8 arena-style football. There are no nets in the end zones and any balls that leave the field of play are take-home souvenirs for the fans. Bone-jarring hits and plenty of scoring make this incredibly fast-paced sport a favorite for spectators of all ages.

"There is truly no other sport that allows for such intimacy between the fans in the stands and the athletes on the field," said Eacker. "The arena setup will make this building an imposing place for visiting teams to play in when the fans get rocking."

ThunderHawks and DeltaPlex Arena officials confirmed the sides have agreed on a multi-year deal. The 'Hawks previously played their home games at the L.C. Walker Arena in downtown Muskegon, 40 miles away.

"We are certainly grateful to the people of Muskegon and the surrounding communities for their support over the past three years," added Eacker. "We hope those fans will understand that there were many factors that went into this difficult decision. The good news is that there is still professional indoor football for all the fans in West Michigan to enjoy."

That's good news for the indoor football fans in GR.

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Bring the AFL or Af2 to Indy!
By the time they bring it back, TD Eddie Brown & Raymond Philyaw will be the coaches!

and there you have it.

Congrats GR for joining the ever growing IFL family.

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