The Erie Invaders were a professional

indoor American football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

team based in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. They were members of the original

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

founded in 1999 and began play in 2000 at

Louis J. Tullio Arena Erie Insurance Arena (originally known as Erie Civic Center and later, Louis J. Tullio Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Downtown Erie, downtown area of Erie, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League and ...

in Erie. They competed in the Southern Division of the Eastern Conference. They were coached by Gary Tufford. After a 6-8 season and a defeat in the playoffs, the franchise folded due to financial reasons.

History

The team was originally slated to join the original incarnation of the

as the Erie Xpress in 1999, but would finally join the league as the Invaders. In 2000, the team compiled a 6-8 record finishing in 2nd place in the Southern Division and would make the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Invaders would subsequently fold after their only season due to financial problems. Indoor football would not be played again in Erie until 2005 when the

Erie Freeze The Erie Freeze was an American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They were an original member of the American Indoor Football League in 2005, and advanced to the first AIFL Championship Game. When the league was reorganized into ...

of the

Atlantic 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 ...

would be formed and play at the Erie Civic Center

Season-by-season

, - , 2000 , , 6 , , 8 , , 0 , , 2nd EC Southern , , Lost Round 1 ( Madison) , - !Totals , , 6 , , 9 , , 0 , , colspan="2", ''Source:'' A look at Erie's indoor football history
GoErie.com

References

{{reflist Erie, Pennsylvania Indoor Football League (1999–2000) teams Defunct American football teams in Pennsylvania American football teams in Pennsylvania