Arizona Sandsharks was a U.S.

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

team that played in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL). It was founded in 1992 and folded in 1997, along with the CISL.

Club history

The Sandsharks were founded on August 3, 1992, under the ownership of

Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona ...

, owner of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, as a founding member of the

. Unfortunately, the 'Sharks were unsuccessful on the turf as the club missed the playoffs in all four of its seasons in the CISL. At the box office, the 'Sharks record was mixed: they did manage higher-than-league average crowds at

America West Arena Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

in three of its four seasons, but still only drew 5,331 fans per match. (Summertime indoor soccer proved not to be very lucrative, as the CISL itself averaged only 5,464.) In 1995, a brawl broke out at a game between the Sandsharks and the visiting

Portland Pride The Portland Pride are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1993 to 1997. History In 1993, a new league, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) began its first season. Traditionally, ...

, and Arizona's Franklin McIntosh continued the melee into the parking lot. When Colangelo attempted to break up the fight, McIntosh accidentally broke the owner’s nose. This proved to be the breaking point (literally) for Colangelo, who after years of financial losses sought to sell the team. Buyers were found in Kerry Dunne and Brian Weymouth, but the sale was completed just before the 1996 season, so the new owners chose to suspend operations for a year. After another awful season in 1997, though, the Sandsharks withdrew from the CISL; the club was then reorganized and renamed the Arizona Thunder, entering the

Premier Soccer Alliance The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States-based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to create ...

in 1998.

Year-by-year

Coaches

* Peter Duah 1993–1994 *

Ron Newman Ronald Vernon Newman (19 January 1934 – 27 August 2018) was an English professional association football player and coach. He was a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame. Life Born in Fareham, Newman, after non-league footbal ...

1995 *

Luis Dabo Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

& Petar Baralic 1997

Notable players

Randy Soderman Randy Soderman is a retired American soccer player and technology entrepreneur. The younger brother of Rick Soderman, Randy played for CISCO Soccer Club in Phoenix growing up. In 1992, he graduated from Cactus High School. That year, he joined ...

Rick Soderman Rick Soderman is a retired American soccer forward who played professionally in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and World Indoor Soccer League. In 1993, Soderman, older brother of Randy Soderman, signed ...

Honors

First team All Star * 1994: Terry Woodberry

References

External links

CISL yearly standings

{{Continental Indoor Soccer League Continental Indoor Soccer League teams Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Association football clubs established in 1992 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 Soccer clubs in Arizona 1992 establishments in Arizona 1997 disestablishments in Arizona