Arena Football League Hosting Championship Game Inside a Mall Looked So Bizarre

Karl Rasmussen | Jul 19, 2024

Arena Bowl XXXIII was held at a shopping mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. / Screenshot via CBS Sports Network on X

The Arena Football League held its championship game on Friday, though the stage for Arena Bowl XXXIII was anything but ordinary.

The 33rd Arena Bowl had a rather unorthodox setting, as the game was bizarrely held in a shopping mall in New Jersey. The site of the game was the American Dream shopping mall in East Rutherford and footage from the game was about as unique as one would imagine.

With the players taking the field on the first floor of the shopping mall, fans were gathered around on field level as well as on the second and third level of the shopping mall. Those higher up were able to peer down over the field while standing against the railing.

What opening kickoff looks like from inside American Dream shopping mall.

ArenaBowl XXXIII pic.twitter.com/p4YVOSFx74

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) July 19, 2024

The camera angles provided from the game were something to behold, too.

Right on top of the action! https://t.co/FjQS1iNm2b pic.twitter.com/cjW7ivbH07

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 19, 2024

This was the Arena Football League's first Arena Bowl since 2019, when the league went bankrupt before its reestablishment this year. The league certainly didn't shy away from providing fans with a new atmosphere or their championship game, covering up the shopping mall's ice rink in order to set up its football arena.