Arena Football League Closes Local Operations, on Brink of Folding

The third longest-running professional football league might be folding.

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The Arena Football League, the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the CFL and NFL, might be the latest football league to fold.

The league announced on Tuesday evening that it was closing its team services and business operations in each of its six markets, with Commissioner Randall Boe calling the move a “difficult, but necessary decision.”

“We have not yet made the final determination that it will be necessary to suspend all League operations, but we expect that decision to be made within the next few weeks,” Boe said in an official statement. “Should we not be able to move forward, we will issue information about all applicable refunds at that time.”

The league attributes its recent struggles as being a “direct consequence” of financial constraints, including "extensive legacy liabilities" and a recent multimillion lawsuit filed against the league.

The AFL, which went bankrupt in 2009 before being revived, expanded from four teams to six last season and turned to an MLS style single-entity structure with the league taking control of its franchises.

This past August, more than 12,000 fans attend ArenaBowl XXXII in Albany, N.Y. and the game was aired on ESPN2.

Nevertheless, the league’s reign as the prominent professional indoor football league might be coming to an end.