The Carolina Ghostriders were an indoor football team and charter member of the

American Indoor Football League American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

History

Formed in 2005, they were originally named the Carolina Sharks and played their home games at the

Cricket Arena Bojangles Coliseum (originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena) is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which als ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. However, the Sharks folded and were replaced by a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

, the AIFL Ghostchasers. The Ghostchasers were often called the "Greensboro Ghostriders" because they were based in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

, although this was never an official name. They were later renamed the Carolina Ghostriders. The team did very poorly, compiling an 0-10 record in the regular season. Because the league only had six teams, however, every team made the playoffs. In the 2005 playoffs they lost to the

Johnstown Riverhawks The Johnstown Riverhawks was a professional indoor American football team based out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. They were a charter member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played their home games at Cambria County War Mem ...

in the opening round. On December 28, 2005 the AIFL announced that the team would play in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

at the

Asheville Civic Center The Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, previously known as the U.S. Cellular Center and originally as the Asheville Civic Center Complex, is a multipurpose entertainment center, located in Asheville, North Carolina. Opened in 1974, the compl ...

. At the beginning of the 2006 season, the team was bought up by Robert W. Boyd from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. After losing 15 games in a row, the franchise officially broke up four games into the 2006 season. In 2006, Robert W. Boyd and the Carolina Ghostriders won a judgment against the American Indoor Football League, David Edward Dix, and Bizsellers.com for breach of contract, among other offenses.

References

External links

Official Site of the Carolina Ghostriders

Ghostriders' 2005 Stats

Ghostriders' 2006 Stats

Ghostriders' 2006 Season & Results
American Indoor Football Association teams American football teams in North Carolina American football teams established in 2005 American football teams disestablished in 2006 2005 establishments in North Carolina 2006 disestablishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-sport-team-stub