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Spokane Shock

(Redirected from Spokane Empire)

The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.

Spokane Shock
Established 2005
Folded 2021
Played in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
in Spokane, Washington
TheSpokaneShock.com
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsBlue, orange, gold, white
       
MascotShox The Fox
Personnel
Owner(s)Sam Adams
Head coachCedric Walker
Team history
  • Spokane Shock (2006–2015)
  • Spokane Empire (2016–2017)
  • Spokane Shock (2020–2021)
Championships
League championships (3)
Conference championships (2)
Division championships (8)
Playoff appearances (11)
Home arena(s)

The AFL franchise was folded in October 2015 and the ownership group obtained a franchise in the Indoor Football League (IFL), known as the Spokane Empire, as the rights to the Shock name still belonged to the AFL.[1] They played in the IFL as the Empire for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. On July 12, 2017, owner Nader Naini announced that the Empire would cease operations, citing financial issues. About a year after the Empire folded, Naini claims to have traded the Empire branding to the AFL for the original Shock trademarks.[2]

In 2019, former Seattle Seahawks player Sam Adams announced he was relaunching the team for the 2020 season. Adams had obtained the trademarks of the Shock name from Naini and re-joined the Indoor Football League.[3][4] The Shock were removed from the IFL after failing to reach a lease agreement in 2022.

Franchise history

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Birth

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For many years, there were proposals to bring an arena football team to Spokane. In summer 2005, owner Brady Nelson teamed up with two additional partners to bring a team to Spokane.[5] On August 26, 2005, during af2 league meetings in Bossier City, Louisiana, league commissioner Jerry Kurz accepted Nelson's proposal for a Spokane af2 team.[6] The Shock was one of three expansion teams to begin playing in 2006. The other two were the Everett Hawks, and the Stockton Lightning.

2006: The Cinderella Story

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On October 12, 2005, the Shock announced that Chris Siegfried would be the franchise's inaugural coach.[7] By the end of 2005, 13 players had been signed. On February 28, 2006, the Spokane Shock sold their 2,000th season ticket. On March 22, 2006, 3,000 season tickets had been sold. On March 30, 2006, the Spokane Shock played their inaugural game against the Stockton Lightning and won 41–40.

The Shock put together a significant inaugural season, posting a 14–2 regular-season record and a first-place finish in the National Conference Western Division. During the af2 playoffs, the Shock defeated the Bakersfield Blitz and the Arkansas Twisters en route to winning the af2 National Conference championship and a berth in ArenaCup VII against the Green Bay Blizzard in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On August 26, the Shock defeated the Blizzard by a score of 57–34 to win ArenaCup VII. The Spokane Shock became the first expansion team in af2 history to advance to, and win, the ArenaCup. The Shock led the league in attendance with an average of 10,313 fans per home game.

As a result of the team's excellent play, head coach Chris Siegfried was named the af2 Head Coach of the Year for the 2006 season. Four Shock players also earned All-af2 National Conference honors as well. WR/LB Charles Frederick, OLS Ed Ta'amu and DS Rob Keefe earned first-team honors while OL/DL Jerome Stevens earned second-team accolades.

Final af2 seasons: 2007–2009

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On September 4, 2006, Spokane head coach Chris Siegfried accepted the offensive coordinator position for the AFL's Kansas City Brigade.[8] On September 20, 2006, the Spokane Shock announced that former Louisville Fire offensive coordinator Adam Shackleford would become their new head coach.[9] The 2007 Shock won their second consecutive division title with a 12–4 record. The Shock then fell in the first round of the af2 playoffs to the Louisville Fire.

In 2008, the Shock fielded another talented team, opening the season with eleven straight wins before losing to the South Georgia Wildcats on a last second field goal. It was the only Shock loss during the regular season, qualifying for the playoffs and clinching home field advantage until the ArenaCup. The Shock faced the Tennessee Valley Vipers on August 25, 2008, in ArenaCup IX. Tennessee Valley was forced to play with its backup quarterback for most of the game after their starter was injured during the first drive. The game was close throughout and regulation ended with a tie to send the ArenaCup into its first ever overtime. After the Shock scored a touchdown and a successful extra point, Tennessee Valley matched them with a touchdown, but went for a two-point conversion and succeeded, to capture their first ArenaCup championship.

The Shock put together another 15–1 regular season in 2009. The Shock again advanced to the ArenaCup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 74–27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[10]

Arena Football League: 2010–2015

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The Shock playing the Utah Blaze on April 9, 2010

On September 27, 2009, the Spokane Shock became part of the Arena Football 1, an entity founded by multiple af2 organizations along with several of the recently defunct Arena Football League (AFL) teams, that was created to replace AFL. In November 2009, Arena Football 1 purchased the assets from the AFL's bankruptcy auction and rebranded as a continuation of the Arena Football League.

The Shock promoted defensive backs' coach Rob Keefe to the head coaching position. The team continued their success in the relaunched league, finishing the regular season with a 16–3 record claiming the first seed in the playoffs. The Shock advanced to ArenaBowl XXIII against the 13–6 Tampa Bay Storm. In front of a franchise record crowd of 11,017, the Shock defeated the Storm 69–57 behind nine touchdown passes from Kyle Rowley.[11]

On July 9, 2011, the Shock hosted an outdoor game at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium. The Shock went 9–9 for the season, lost in the first round of the playoffs, and fired head coach Rob Keefe following the season. The Shock promoted offensive coordinator, Andy Olson to head coach for 2012 and improved to 10–8, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the team's existence. Prior to the 2013 season, the Shock lost quarterback Kyle Rowley in free agency but quarterback Erik Meyer put together an MVP 2013 season, also winning Offensive Player of the Year. Wide receiver Adron Tennell won Receiver of the Year. The Shock went 14–4 and lost in the conference championship.

In January 2014, it was announced that Brady Nelson had sold the Shock to Arena Football Partners, LLC., an ownership group led by Nader Naini.[12]

In 2015, after losing former MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, Erik Meyer, and former Wide Receiver of the Year Adron Tennell to division rival, San Jose. The Shock made the playoffs, but lost to the Arizona Rattlers 72–41. Following the season, Olson announced that he would not be returning to coach the Shock in 2016 and the Shock re-hired Adam Shackleford away from the Tri-Cities Fever.[13]

Spokane Empire join the IFL: 2016–2017

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Beginning on August 10, 2015, talk began surfacing about a possible move to the Indoor Football League by Shock owner Nader Naini, who was heavily involved with bringing Scott Butera to the AFL as its new commissioner. He accused the AFL and some of its teams of cheating, favoring the more established franchises and not fulfilling obligations to improve the product, forcing him to weigh options for the team's future which includes dropping to the IFL, a move that some players expressed unhappiness and disappointment about.[14][15] However, IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse was quick to point out, "At this point, it would be improper to comment about any team that is associated with another league."[16]

The move was officially confirmed on September 1, 2015.[17] This made 2016 the second straight year that an established AFL franchise moved to the IFL following the Iowa Barnstormers. However, the Spokane franchise had to operate under a different identity, as the Arena Football League announced on October 12 that the team and league could not reach an agreement for the team's trademark and logos, which are owned by the AFL. A press release from the AFL indicated that the league would retain the rights to the Shock name and logos.[18] However, the team retained the Shock's history and went by a new name for the 2016 season,[1] and a name-the-team contest had the franchise become known as the Spokane Empire.

The 2016 Spokane Empire went 12–4 in their inaugural IFL campaign. They advanced to the championship game by winning the Intense Conference championship beating the Nebraska Danger 55–44, but fell to the Sioux Falls Storm 55–34 in the final. They came close to an achievement that had not been done before; winning three different league championships in their first season in the league with the af2's ArenaCup, the AFL's ArenaBowl and the IFL's United Bowl.

The following 2017 season, the team went 8–8 and missed the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. On July 12, 2017, owner Nader Naini announced that the Empire had ceased operations, citing financial issues. About a year after the Empire folded, Naini claims to have traded the Empire branding to the AFL, which became the Albany Empire, for the original Shock trademarks.[2]

Return of Spokane Shock: 2019–2022

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In 2019, Naini sold the Shock trademark and remaining assets to former Seattle Seahawks' player Sam Adams with the intention of relaunching the Shock in the IFL for the 2020 season. The IFL announced the return of the Shock on November 1, 2019. Adams brought in the head coach of the Carolina Cobras as the new head coach of the Shock. However, before the Shock could play a game, the 2020 season was postponed and eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down most venues due to social distancing measures.[19] Adams stated the Shock would still play games in 2020 against any other team regardless of schedule once the government allowed venues to re-open,[20] which did not come to fruition.

The Shock played their first game since relaunching on May 15, 2021, in a 36–33 loss to the Frisco Fighters to start their 2021 season.[21] Spokane advanced to the 2021 IFL playoffs, but were eliminated on August 28 in a quarterfinal game against Frisco.[22]

On February 15, 2022, it was reported that Adams and the Shock had not signed lease with the arena for the 2022 season set to start in March. Adams was required to pay the arena by December 31, 2021, but the wired payment did not clear the bank.[23] He signed the lease later that day, but the arena had yet to be issued the $128,000 security bond and Adams had until February 23 or the lease would be terminated.[24] It was extended to February 24, but Adams still did not make the payment in time and the Shock lost their lease for the 2022 season.[25] The Shock were subsequently removed from the IFL later that evening.[26] On February 24, 2022, Adams was ordered to pay two former employees of his Shock franchise $9,342.18 in unpaid wages as well as former assistant general manager (and former AFL Shock player) Patrick Afif in two separate Washington State Department of Labor and Industries legal cases against him.[27] The next day, Adams stated he was applying to join the National Arena League (NAL), which is mostly based on the east coast, but the NAL quickly dismissed the idea.[28]

On July 22, 2022, all assets of the Shock and Empire past were auctioned off in a liquidation sale where fans took home merchandise, trophies (including af2 and IFL trophies) and other assets left behind by Adams leaving town without warning. [29] Adams has also stated that he has no plans to sell the Shock name and identity despite various lawsuits against him that are still in litigation.

Attendance history

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Fans at a game in 2013

af2 (2006–2009)

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Spokane Shock arena football attendance records show the largest crowds: 10,662 vs. Tennessee Valley (Arena Cup 9 - August 25, 2008); 10,659 twice during 2008 regular season, and smallest crowds: 7,267 vs. Stockton 2009 playoffs (August 1, 2009); 9,387 vs. Stockton on March 30, 2006 (inaugural game).

Regular season average attendance

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Year Total Att Average League rank Sellouts / Games
2006 (af2) 79,213 9,902 1st 4 of 8
2007 (af2) 84,556 10,570 1st 8 of 8
2008 (af2) 84,705 10,588 1st 8 of 8
2009 (af2) 83,306 10,413 1st 5 of 8
Total 331,780 10,368 — 25 of 32

Total all-time attendance, including playoff games while part of the af2 (2006–2009): 422,584
Total all-time sellouts including playoff games: 27

Regular season sellout streak

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The Spokane Shock sold out the Spokane Arena for 19 consecutive regular season games starting with the regular season finale in 2006, and continuing to the second game in 2009. The last non-sellout regular season game was on June 26, 2009.

Playoff attendance history (af2)

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  • 2006: (20,242) 1st round bye, 2nd round 9,692 vs Bakersfield, 3rd round 10,550 vs Arkansas, Arena Cup VII in Puerto Rico
  • 2007: (8,272) 1st round 8,272 vs. Louisville
  • 2008: (37,735) 1st round 8,872 vs. Austin, 2nd round 8,923 vs. Central Valley, 3rd round 9,278 vs. Amarillo, Arena Cup VIII at Spokane Arena 10,662 vs. Tennessee Valley.
  • 2009: (24,555) 1st round 7,267 vs. Stockton, 2nd round 8,041 vs. Boise, 3rd round 9,247 vs. Tulsa, Arena Cup X in Las Vegas

Other af2 attendance records

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  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th highest total regular season attendance in af2 history: 83,306 (2009), 84,705 (2008), 84,556 (2007), 79,213 (2006).
  • Largest crowd in Arena Cup History (10,662 – Arena Cup IX) Spokane vs. Tennessee Valley on August 25, 2008.
  • Longest regular season sell-out streak in af2 history, 19 games.
  • af2 season ticket sales record – 2007, almost 8,000.

AFL (2010–2015)

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Regular season Spokane Shock AFL attendance

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  • Largest crowd (outdoor): 16,233 vs. Utah Blaze (July 9, 2011 Joe Albi Outdoor Classic)
  • Largest crowd (indoor): 10,775 vs. Chicago Rush (July 23, 2010)
  • Smallest crowd: 7,497 vs. Las Vegas Outlaws (June 13, 2015)

Postseason Spokane Shock AFL attendance

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Regular season average attendance

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Year Total Att Average League Rank Sellouts / Games
2010 82,509 10,313 5th 1 of 8
2011 92,497 10,277 3rd 0 of 9[a]
2012 81,206 9,023 6th 0 of 9
2013 83,669 9,296 3rd 1 of 9
2014 80,814 8,979 6th 1 of 9
2015 72,314 8,034 8th 0 of 9
Total 493,009 9,302 — 3 of 53
  1. ^ Includes one outdoor game

Playoff attendance history

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Outdoor Summer Classic Game at Joe Albi Stadium

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The Spokane Shock played the first outdoor arena football game on July 9, 2011, at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane. A Spokane Shock record crowd of 16,233 watched the Shock beat the Utah Blaze 76–49. Joe Albi Stadium holds between 20,000 and 24,000 for football. The shaded side of the stadium was filled to capacity, while the sunny side was about half full. Daytime temperatures reached over 90 °F (50 °C) that day, and game time was pushed back to 6:00 PM PDT as a result.

Players

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Arena Football League

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Individual awards

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All-Arena players

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The following Shock players were named to All-Arena Teams:

All-Ironman players

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The following Shock players were named to All-Ironman Teams:

Indoor Football League

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Individual awards

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All-League selections

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  • QB Charles Dowdell
  • RB Trevor Kennedy
  • OL Dave Lefotu
  • DL Benjamin Perry, J. D. Griggs
  • LB Nick Haag
  • DB Rob Brown, John Hardy-Tuliau

Coaches

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Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Spokane Shock
Chris Siegfried 2006 14 2 0 .875 3 0 af2 Coach of the Year
Adam Shackleford 2007–2009 42 6 0 .875 7 2
Rob Keefe 2010–2011 22 12 0 .647 3 1
Andy Olson 2012–2015 42 30 0 .583 1 3
Spokane Empire
Adam Shackleford 2016–2017 20 12 0 .625 1 1
Spokane Shock
Billy Back 2020–2021 6 7 0 .500 0 1
Cedric Walker 2022 0 0 0 – 0 0

Season-by-season

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Main article: List of Spokane Shock seasons

References

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  1. ^ a b "Team update on Trademark Rights". Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  2. ^ a b "Spokane Shock officially announce return beginning in March 2020". The Spokesman-Review. November 1, 2019. Naini acquired the Shock trademark about a year after the franchise folded, trading the Empire name to the AFL in exchange for the Shock trademark. Adams "worked it out" with Naini to acquire the Shock brand
  3. ^ "'We will be playing in 2020': Team officials formally announce Spokane Shock's return to the IFL". KXLY-TV. November 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "Spokane Shock Join IFL". Indoor Football league. November 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Jim Meehan (August 10, 2005). "Spokane closing in on arenafootball2 team". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  6. ^ Dave Trimmer (August 27, 2005). "Spokane awarded arenafootball2 franchise". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "Spokane Shock Name Siegfried Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 12, 2005. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  8. ^ "Siegfried accepts AFL position". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. September 4, 2006. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  9. ^ "Shock Name New Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 20, 2006. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  10. ^ "af2: Spokane Shock rout Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to win ArenaCup". www.naplesnews.com. Scripps Newspaper Group — Online. August 23, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  11. ^ Jim Meehan (August 20, 2010). "Spokane Shock are AFL champions". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  12. ^ Jim Meehan (January 15, 2014). "Brady Nelson sells Spokane Shock football team". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  13. ^ Jim Meehan (August 18, 2015). "Shock: Andy Olson out, Adam Shackleford in". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  14. ^ Shock weighing options for future league affiliation, Jim Meehan, The Spokesman-Review, August 10, 2015
  15. ^ Shock moves closer to IFL, but players not happy with potential move, Jim Meehan, The Spokesman-Review, August 17, 2015
  16. ^ Shock players go to social media to lament possible move to the IFL, Jim Meehan, The Spokesman-Review, August 18, 2015
  17. ^ "IFL Announces Addition of Spokane Shock". Indoor Football League. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  18. ^ "AFL Issues Statement on Spokane Shock". Archived from the original on 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  19. ^ "IFL Cancels Remaining 2020 Games". IFL. April 13, 2020.
  20. ^ "Shock Plans to Play Games as the IFL Cancels Remainder of 2020 Season". Spokane Shock. April 13, 2020.
  21. ^ "Spokane Shock rewind: After losing 'sloppy' opener, Shock hope to learn from their miscues in preparation for the Massachusetts Pirates". The Spokesman-Review. May 18, 2021.
  22. ^ "Spokane Shock eliminated from IFL Playoffs". The Spokesman-Review. August 28, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "No contract for Spokane Shock as Public Facilities District waits for $128,000 security bond". KREM. February 15, 2022.
  24. ^ "Spokane Shock misses deadline to supply $128,000 credit line". KREM. February 15, 2022.
  25. ^ "After 24-hour extension, Spokane Shock owner misses final deadline to supply security bond to play at Spokane Arena". KREM. February 24, 2022.
  26. ^ "Spokane Shock kicked out of the Indoor Football League". KREM. February 24, 2022.
  27. ^ "Judge ruled Spokane Shock owner Sam Adams didn't pay workers thousands in wages". KREM. February 24, 2022.
  28. ^ "NAL 'will not entertain' application to join league from Spokane Shock". KREM. February 25, 2022.
  29. ^ "Spokane Shock equipment, memorabilia, trophies abandoned by former owner to be auctioned off". The Spokesman. July 19, 2022.
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