View source for ArenaBowl

{{Short description|Annual league championship game}}
{{NFL event
| title    = The ArenaBowl
| logo = [[File:ArenaBowl-Trophy.jpg|275px]]
| caption  = The [[Foster Trophy]] is awarded to the ArenaBowl winner
| league    = [[Arena Football League|AFL]]
| founded = August 1, 1987
| trophy    = [[Foster Trophy]]
| season2019 = [[ArenaBowl XXXII]] (August 11, 2019)<br>[[2019 Albany Empire season|Albany Empire]] vs. [[2019 Philadelphia Soul season|Philadelphia Soul]]
|discontinued=August 11, 2019}}
The '''ArenaBowl''' was the championship game of the [[Arena Football League]] (AFL).  Originally hosted at [[Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh's Civic Arena]] based on home attendance during the inaugural [[1987 Arena Football League season|1987 season]], save four years (2005–2008) the game was hosted by the team with the higher seed based on regular season performance.  In 2005–2006 the league staged the game in [[Las Vegas]], and in 2007–2008 [[New Orleans]] hosted the event.  For the series final two games, regular season home attendance between the competing teams determined which would host.

Originally using year-based nomenclature ("ArenaBowl '87"), the league would begin consistently referring to the game using roman numerals beginning in 1994 ("[[ArenaBowl VIII]]").  The original [[Arena Football League]]'s 2009 bankruptcy liquidation brought the league's existence to a close, but [[ArenaBowl XXIII]] would be staged in 2010 as the championship game of a new league which assumed the AFL's intellectual properties.  The final ten games of the series would be staged under the "new" Arena Football League, concluding with [[ArenaBowl XXXII]] between the [[Albany Empire (AFL)|Albany Empire]] and [[Philadelphia Soul]].  The second AFL ultimately had the same fate as the first, ceasing operations after its 2019 season and undergoing [[Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 7]] bankruptcy liquidation.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/11/27/arena-football-league-declares-bankruptcy-shuts-down/4322126002/|title=Arena Football League files for bankruptcy, ceases all operations |last=Gleeson|first=Scott |website=[[USA Today]] |date=November 27, 2019 |access-date=November 27, 2019}}</ref>

The intellectual property rights to the names of the Arena Football League and the ArenaBowl were sold through the league's bankruptcy proceeding in 2020. The ArenaBowl name was used in 2024 for [[ArenaBowl XXXIII]].

==Results==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Game || Date || colspan="2"|Winning team || colspan="2"|Losing team || colspan="1"|MVP || Site || Attendance
|-
| [[ArenaBowl I]] || August 1, {{afly|1987}} || [[Denver Dynamite (arena football)|Denver Dynamite]] || 45 || [[Tampa Bay Storm|Pittsburgh Gladiators]] || 16 || [[Gary Mullen (American football)|Gary Mullen]] || [[Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh Civic Arena]] || 13,232
|-
| [[ArenaBowl II]] || July 30, {{afly|1988}} || [[Massachusetts Marauders|Detroit Drive]] || 24 || [[Chicago Bruisers]] || 13 || [[Steve Griffin]] || [[Rosemont Horizon]] || 15,018
|-
| [[ArenaBowl III]] || August 18,  {{afly|1989}} || [[Detroit Drive]] || 39 || Pittsburgh Gladiators || 26 || [[George LaFrance]] || [[Joe Louis Arena]] || 12,046
|-
| [[ArenaBowl IV]] || August 11, {{afly|1990}} || [[Detroit Drive]] || 51 || [[Dallas Texans (Arena)|Dallas Texans]] || 27 || [[Art Schlichter]] || [[Joe Louis Arena]] || 19,875
|-
| [[ArenaBowl V]] || August 17, {{afly|1991}} || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 48 || [[Detroit Drive]] || 42 || [[Stevie Thomas]] || [[Joe Louis Arena]] || 20,357
|-
| [[ArenaBowl VI]] || August 22, {{afly|1992}} || [[Detroit Drive]] || 56 || [[Orlando Predators]] || 38 || George LaFrance (2) || [[Orlando Arena]] || 13,680
|-
| [[ArenaBowl VII]] || August 21, {{afly|1993}} || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 51 || [[Detroit Drive]] || 31 || [[Jay Gruden]] || [[Joe Louis Arena]] || 12,989
|-
| [[ArenaBowl VIII]] || September 2, {{afly|1994}} || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 36 || [[Orlando Predators]] || 31 || [[Sherdrick Bonner]] || [[Orlando Arena]] || 14,368
|-
| [[ArenaBowl IX]] || September 1, {{afly|1995}} || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 48 || [[Orlando Predators]]|| 35 || George LaFrance (3) || [[Tropicana Field|ThunderDome]] || 25,087
|-
| [[ArenaBowl X]] || August 26, {{afly|1996}} || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 42 || [[New York Dragons|Iowa Barnstormers]] || 38 || Stevie Thomas (2) || [[Iowa Events Center|Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium]] || 11,411
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XI]] || August 25, {{afly|1997}} || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 55 || [[Iowa Barnstormers]] || 33 || [[Donnie Davis]] || [[Footprint Center|America West Arena]] || 17,436
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XII]] || August 23, {{afly|1998}} || [[Orlando Predators]] || 62 || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 31 || [[Rick Hamilton]] || [[Ice Palace (Tampa arena)|Ice Palace]] || 17,222
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XIII]] || August 21,{{afly|1999}} || [[Indiana Firebirds|Albany Firebirds]] || 59 || [[Orlando Predators]] || 48 || [[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]] || [[Pepsi Arena (Albany, New York)|Pepsi Arena]] || 13,652
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XIV]] || August 20, {{afly|2000}} || [[Orlando Predators]] || 41 || [[Nashville Kats]] || 38 || [[Connell Maynor]] || [[TD Waterhouse Centre]] || 15,989
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XV]] || August 19, {{afly|2001}} || [[Grand Rapids Rampage]] || 64 || [[Nashville Kats]] || 42 || [[Terrill Shaw]] || [[Van Andel Arena]] || 11,217
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XVI]] || August 18, {{afly|2002}} || [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 52 || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 14 || [[John Dutton (quarterback)|John Dutton]] || [[HP Pavilion at San Jose]] || 16,942
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XVII]] || June 22, {{afly|2003}} || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 43 || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 29 || [[Lawrence Samuels]] || [[St. Pete Times Forum]] || 20,469
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XVIII]] || June 27, {{afly|2004}} || [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 69 || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 62 || [[Mark Grieb]] || [[Footprint Center|America West Arena]] || 17,391
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XIX]] || June 12, {{afly|2005}} || [[Colorado Crush]] || 51 || [[Georgia Force]] || 48 || [[Willis Marshall]] || [[Thomas & Mack Center]]* || 10,822
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XX]] || June 11, {{afly|2006}} || [[Chicago Rush]] || 69 || [[Orlando Predators]] || 61 || [[Matt D'Orazio]] || [[Thomas & Mack Center]]* || 13,476
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXI]] || July 29, {{afly|2007}} || [[San Jose SaberCats]]  || 55 || [[Columbus Destroyers]] || 33 || Mark Grieb (2) || [[New Orleans Arena]]* || 17,056
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXII]] || July 27, {{afly|2008}} || [[Philadelphia Soul]]  || 59 || [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 56 || Matt D'Orazio (2) || [[New Orleans Arena]]* || 17,244
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXIII]] || August 20, {{afly|2010}} || [[Spokane Shock]] || 69 || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 57 || [[Kyle Rowley]] || [[Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena]] || 11,017
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXIV]] || August 12, {{afly|2011}} || [[Jacksonville Sharks]] || 73 ||  [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 70 || [[Aaron Garcia (American football)|Aaron Garcia]] || [[Footprint Center|US Airways Center]] || 14,320
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXV]] || August 10, {{afly|2012}} || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 72 ||  [[Philadelphia Soul]] || 54 || [[Nick Davila]] || [[New Orleans Arena]]* || 13,648
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXVI]] || August 17, {{afly|2013}} || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 48 ||  [[Philadelphia Soul]] || 39 || [[Rod Windsor]] || [[Amway Center]]* || 12,039
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXVII]] || August 23, {{afly|2014}} || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 72 ||  [[Cleveland Gladiators]] || 32 || Nick Davila (2) || [[Quicken Loans Arena]] || 18,410
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXVIII]] || August 29, {{afly|2015}} || [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 68 ||  [[Jacksonville Sharks]] || 47 || [[Reggie Gray]] || [[Stockton Arena]] || 9,115
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXIX]] || August 26, {{afly|2016}} || [[Philadelphia Soul]] || 56 || [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 42 || [[Shaun Kauleinamoku]] || [[Desert Diamond Arena|Gila River Arena]] || 13,390
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXX]] || August 26, {{afly|2017}} || [[Philadelphia Soul]] || 44 || [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 40 || [[Darius Prince]] || [[Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)|Wells Fargo Center]] || 13,648
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXXI]] || July 28, {{afly|2018}} || [[Washington Valor]] || 69 || [[Baltimore Brigade]] || 55 || [[Arvell Nelson]] || [[Royal Farms Arena]] || 8,183
|-
| [[ArenaBowl XXXII]] || August 11, {{afly|2019}} || [[Albany Empire (AFL)|Albany Empire]] || 45|| [[Philadelphia Soul]] ||27|| [[Tommy Grady]] || [[Times Union Center]] || 12,042
|-
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Neutral site
* The first seven ArenaBowls were known by the year in which they were played (i.e. ArenaBowl I was called ArenaBowl '87). ArenaBowl VIII was the first to carry a roman numeral, and all previous games were retconned to have roman numerals as well.
* The number in parentheses indicates the amount of ArenaBowl MVPs that player won.
* 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 were regarded as a completely separate team and kept records from their establishment in 2002 to the team's demise in 2012, similar to the [[Cleveland Browns]] and [[Baltimore Ravens]] [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|situation]] in the [[National Football League|NFL]].

===Most championships won===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Team !! Championships !! Winning years
|-
| [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 5 || 1994, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014
|-
| [[Tampa Bay Storm]] || 5 || 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003
|-
| [[Massachusetts Marauders|Detroit Drive]] || 4 || 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
|-
| [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 4 || 2002, 2004, 2007, 2015
|-
| [[Philadelphia Soul]] || 3 || 2008, 2016, 2017
|-
| [[Orlando Predators]] || 2 || 1998, 2000
|-
| [[Indiana Firebirds|Albany Firebirds]] || 1 || 1999
|-
| [[Chicago Rush]] || 1 || 2006
|-
| [[Colorado Crush]] || 1 || 2005
|-
| [[Denver Dynamite (arena football)|Denver Dynamite]] || 1 || 1987
|-
| [[Grand Rapids Rampage]] || 1 || 2001
|-
| [[Jacksonville Sharks]] || 1 || 2011
|-
| [[Spokane Shock]] || 1 || 2010
|-
| [[Washington Valor]] || 1 || 2018
|-
| [[Albany Empire (AFL)|Albany Empire]] || 1 || 2019
|}

===Standings===
{| class="wikitable"
!Team || W || L || PCT. || PF || PA || Last appearance
|-
| [[Arizona Rattlers]] || 5 || 5 || .500 || 500 || 482 || 2016
|-
| [[Tampa Bay Storm]]* || 5 || 5 || .500 || 402 || 434 || 2017
|-
| [[San Jose SaberCats]] || 4 || 1 || .800 || 300 || 215 || 2015
|-
| [[Massachusetts Marauders|Detroit Drive]] || 4 || 2 || .667 || 243 || 203 || 1993
|-
|[[Philadelphia Soul]]|| 3 || 3 || .500 || 279 || 303 || 2019
|-
| [[Orlando Predators]] || 2 || 5 || .286 || 316 || 337 || 2006
|-
|[[Albany Empire (AFL)|Albany Empire]]|| 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 45 || 27 || 2019
|-
|[[Indiana Firebirds|Albany Firebirds]]|| 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 59 || 48 || 1999
|-
| [[Chicago Rush]] || 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 69 || 61 || 2006
|-
| [[Colorado Crush]] || 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 51 || 48 || 2005
|-
| [[Denver Dynamite (arena football)|Denver Dynamite]] || 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 45 || 16 || 1987
|-
| [[Grand Rapids Rampage]] || 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 64 || 42 || 2001
|-
| [[Spokane Shock]] || 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 69 || 57 || 2010
|-
|[[Washington Valor]]|| 1 || 0 || 1.000 || 69 || 55 || 2018
|-
| [[Jacksonville Sharks]] || 1 || 1 || .500 || 120 || 138 || 2015
|-
|[[Baltimore Brigade]]|| 0 || 1 || .000 || 55 || 69 || 2018
|-
| [[Chicago Bruisers]] || 0 || 1 || .000 || 13 || 24 || 1988
|-
| [[Cleveland Gladiators]] || 0 || 1 || .000|| 32 || 72 || 2014
|-
| [[Columbus Destroyers]] || 0 || 1 || .000 || 33 || 55 || 2007
|-
| [[Dallas Texans (Arena)|Dallas Texans]] || 0 || 1 || .000 || 27 || 51 || 1990
|-
| [[Georgia Force]] || 0 || 1 || .000 || 48 || 51 || 2005
|-
| [[Iowa Barnstormers]] || 0 || 2 || .000 || 71 || 97 || 1997
|-
| [[Nashville Kats]] || 0 || 2 || .000 || 80 || 105 || 2001
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Includes two appearances as Pittsburgh Gladiators (0–2, 42 points, 84 points allowed).

===Coaching records===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Coach || G || W || L || PCT. || Team(s) || Appearance(s)
|-
|[[Darren Arbet]] || 5 || 4 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|4|1}} || San Jose SaberCats || 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2015
|-
|[[Fran Curci]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Tampa Bay Storm || 1991
|-
|[[Mike Dailey]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|2|0}} || Albany Firebirds, Colorado Crush || 1999, 2005
|-
|[[Clint Dolezel]] || 4 || 2 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|2|2}} || Philadelphia Soul || 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019
|-
|[[John Gregory (American football coach)|John Gregory]] || 2 || 0 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|0|2}} || Iowa Barnstormers || 1996, 1997
|-
|[[Jay Gruden]] || 4 || 2 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|2|2}} || Orlando Predators || 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006
|-
|[[Kevin Guy]] || 5 || 3 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|3|2}} || Arizona Rattlers || 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
|-
|[[Joe Haering]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Pittsburgh Gladiators || 1987*
|-
|[[Mike Hohensee]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Chicago Rush || 2006
|-
|[[Darrel Jackson]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Pittsburgh Gladiators || 1989*
|-
|[[Ron James (American football)|Ron James]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Tampa Bay Storm || 2017
|-
|[[Doug Kay]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Columbus Destroyers || 2007
|-
|[[Rob Keefe]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|2|0}} || Spokane Shock, Albany Empire || 2010, 2019
|-
|[[Lary Kuharich]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Tampa Bay Storm || 1993
|-
|[[Tim Marcum]] || 11 || 7 || 4 || {{Winning percentage|7|4}} || Denver Dynamite, Detroit Drive, Tampa Bay Storm || 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2010
|-
|[[Benji McDowell]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Washington Valor || 2018
|-
|[[Les Moss (American football)|Les Moss]] || 2 || 1 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|1|1}} || Jacksonville Sharks || 2011, 2015
|-
|[[Perry Moss]] || 5 || 1 || 4 || {{Winning percentage|1|4}} || Chicago Bruisers, Detroit Drive, Orlando Predators || 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995
|-
|[[Bret Munsey]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Philadelphia Soul || 2008
|-
|[[Doug Plank]] || 2 || 0 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|0|2}} || Georgia Force, Philadelphia Soul || 2005, 2012
|-
|[[Omarr Smith]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Baltimore Brigade || 2018
|-
|[[Pat Sperduto]] || 2 || 0 || 2 || {{Winning percentage|0|2}} || Nashville Kats || 2000, 2001
|-
|[[Ernie Stautner]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Dallas Texans || 1990
|-
|[[Steve Thonn]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || {{Winning percentage|0|1}} || Cleveland Gladiators || 2014
|-
|[[Michael Trigg (quarterback)|Michael Trigg]] || 1 || 1 || 0 || {{Winning percentage|1|0}} || Grand Rapids Rampage || 2001
|-
|[[Danny White]] || 5 || 2 || 3 || {{Winning percentage|2|3}} || Arizona Rattlers || 1994, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Both Haering and Jackson coached the 1989 Pittsburgh Gladiators, but Jackson is credited with the postseason games.

==See also==
* [[List of ArenaBowl broadcasters]]
* [[List of Arena Football League seasons]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010922092403/http://arenabowl.com/ ArenaBowl.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031018035118/http://arenafootball.com/ Arena Football League]

{{Arena Football League}}
{{ArenaBowl}}
{{ArenaBowl champions}}
{{ArenaBowl MVPs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenabowl}}
[[Category:ArenaBowl| ]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1987]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2019]]
[[Category:Indoor American football competitions]]
[[Category:American football bowls]]
[[Category:1987 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:2019 disestablishments in the United States]]