The Flint Phantoms were a professional indoor football team based in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. The Phantoms joined the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

(CIFL) in 2008 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

. They were the second professional indoor football team to be based in Flint, with the first being the Flint Flames 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 amon ...

. The Michigan Pirates played a home playoff game in Flint, in 2007, with the idea of moving there, but the team folded after the 2007 season. The Phantoms played their home games at the

Perani Arena and Event Center The Dort Financial Center (originally IMA Sports Arena and formerly Perani Arena and Event Center) is a sports, entertainment and convention venue located in Flint, Michigan, United States. It opened in 1969 and is the home of the Flint Firebirds ...

in Flint, Michigan.

History

With the limited success of Perani Arena as the playoff home for the Michigan Pirates, Pete Norager, one of the owners of the Pirates, decided to start a replacement team in Flint, and the formation of the Phantoms was announced on December 18, 2007. In February 2008, Norager withdrew from owning the team. The Perani Group operated the team pending the selection of a new owner with a temporary investment group. Because of poor attendance, payments to players were delayed near the end of the 2008 season, and some players left the team because of other commitments or disgruntlement over late pay. The Phantoms approached their last game of 2008 with a roster of just 9 or 10 or maybe 50 and looked to semi-pro teams for additional players. On the day of the game, only 11 players were available (with 16 required to field a team), forcing the Phantoms to

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...

. The team has sat out the 2009 season but still is still considering rejoining the CIFL.2009 Schedule Released
Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) website

Season-By-Season

, - , 2008 , , 1 , , 11 , , 0 , , 4th Atlantic West , , --

2008 Season Schedule

2008 CIFL Standings

References

External links

Official websiteCIFL Alignment, announcing the team
{{CIFL Former Continental Indoor Football League teams Sports in Flint, Michigan American football teams in Michigan American football teams established in 2008 American football teams disestablished in 2008