The Harrisburg Heat were an American professional indoor soccer team based in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. The team was part of the National Professional Soccer League, which later became the Major Indoor Soccer League, and has been defunct since

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

History

The Harrisburg Heat were first formed during the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

– 92 season by Dr. Rex Herbert, following the folding of the

Hershey Impact The Hershey Impact was an indoor soccer club based in Hershey, Pennsylvania that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team played its home games at the Hersheypark Arena Hersheypark Arena (originally Hershey Sports Arena) ...

, another NPSL team for which Herbert was the team physician. Along with other investors, Herbert produced the fiscal and economic backdrop to support the team. The Heat went through several seasons when they were among the most financially sound teams in the league. However, their only trip to the league finals was during the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

– 95 season, when the Heat took on the St. Louis Ambush, also now defunct. The Heat were swept in four games, losing 19–9, 18–8, 12–7 and 14–11. The last few years of the team's existence saw declining attendance numbers, partly due to the State Farm Show Complex's construction project that restricted parking and also charged a fee for parking. Also, a portion of the team's ownership passed from Herbert to Rodney Rumberger, a Harrisburg-area businessman. Many of the team's popular players also had retired or signed with other teams. The team ceased operations following the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

– 03 season. Despite several attempts to put together a new ownership group, the Heat did not return the next season. On May 2, 2012, it was announced that 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 ...

named after the Harrisburg Heat will join the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

in the fall, owned by the league. Longtime Heat broadcaster John Wilsbach took over as owner of the team from 2013 to 2016 and then sold it to Carl Delmont. The team is currently a member of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

, a rebranding of the PASL. The original Heat's home arena was in the

Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena, is a large exhibition center and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the Pennsylvania Far ...

Year-by-year

Ownership

* Dr. Rex Herbert (1991–03) * Rodney Rumberger (1995–03) * Rob Bleecher

Staff

* Vice President –

Jim Pollihan James Pollihan is a former U.S. soccer player who was an outstanding collegiate forward with Quincy University but moved to defense as a professional. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1976 and 1979. Player College P ...

* General Manager – Gregg Cook * Public Relations Director – Gregory Bibb * Equipment Manager – Mike Butala * Director of Broadcasting – John Wilsbach

Head coaches

*1991–99

*1999-02

Richard Chinapoo Richard Chinapoo (born January 18, 1957) was a Trinidad soccer defender who had an extensive career, primarily in the United States. Chinapoo spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the National Professional Soccer League ...

*2002–03

Erich Geyer Erich Geyer (born November 7, 1950) is a German former football (soccer) defender who spent most of his career in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Following his retirement from playing, he coached for over twenty ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrisburg Heat (1991-2003) Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) teams National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) teams Sports in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Soccer clubs in Pennsylvania Association football clubs established in 1991 1991 establishments in Pennsylvania 2003 disestablishments in Pennsylvania