The Lakeland Thunderbolts were a professional indoor football team. They were a member of the

American Indoor Football Association 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 ...

(AIFA). They played their home games at the

Lakeland Center The RP Funding Center (formerly the Lakeland Civic Center and the Lakeland Center) is a multipurpose entertainment complex in Lakeland, Florida, comprising a convention center, arena and theater. Currently, it is home to the Florida Tropics SC o ...

History

The Lakeland Thunderbolts began in 2005 as an expansion member of the

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, A ...

, finishing their inaugural season with a 6–8 record and losing in the first round of playoffs to the

Rome Renegades The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...

with a score of 53–7. Lakeland's 2006 season ended with a 44–18 loss to the

Fayetteville Guard The Fayetteville Guard was a professional indoor football team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum from 2005 to 2010. The ...

, in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

, during the second round of the NIFL playoffs. The Thunderbolts finished the regular season fourth overall (third in the Atlantic Conference) with a 12–2 record. After the 2006 season ended, the 'Bolts decided to move to the

. Perhaps the team's biggest victory so far is their 39–36 win over the defending champion

Canton Legends The Canton Legends was a professional indoor football team based out of Canton, Ohio. They were a charter member of the American Indoor Football Association, which played their first season under the name Atlantic Indoor Football League, and th ...

on March 11, 2007, ending their 12-game winning streak dating back from the previous season (The previous team to defeat Canton was the

Reading Express The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of ...

on April 23, 2006, at the

Canton Memorial Civic Center The Canton Memorial Civic Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Canton, Ohio, United States. Built in 1951, previous sports teams that have played at the center include the Canton Legends indoor football team, Canton Invaders indoor soccer ...

by a score of 56–18). Lakeland secured the 2007 Southern Division Championship after an 84–62 win over the Mississippi Mudcats on June 16, 2007. On June 23, they would win AIFA Championship Bowl I at the

Florence Civic Center The Florence Center is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena in Florence, South Carolina. The arena was known as the Florence Civic Center until it rebranded in November 2017. It hosted the infamous eighth WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996, dur ...

, defeating the

by a score of 54–49. On Saturday, October 20, 2007, it was announced that the Thunderbolts had declined on rejoining the AIFA for 200

On Tuesday December 4, 2007, the AIFA announced they have reached an agreement with the Lakeland Center, and the Thunderbolts will return in 2009

There is a possibility that Thunderbolts could play in the Southern Indoor Football League in 2010. The Thunderbolts will likely return to the

in 2011

Season-By-Season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Lakeland Thunderbolts (NIFL) , - , 2005 , , 6 , , 8 , , 0 , , 3rd Atlantic South , , Lost AC Quarterfinal ( Rome Renegades, Rome) , - , 2006 , , 12 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st Atlantic South , , Won AC Quarterfinal (

Montgomery Maulers The Montgomery Bears were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, Alabama. They are a member of the American Indoor Football Association. The team began play as the Montgomery Maul ...

)
Lost AC Semifinal ( Fayetteville) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Lakeland Thunderbolts (AIFA) , - , 2007 , , 11 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st Southern , , Won Round 1 ( Carolina)
Won SD Championship (

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

)
Won Championship Bowl I (

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

) , - , 2008 , , colspan="5" rowspan="3" valign="middle" align="center" , ''Did Not Play'' , - , 2009 , - , 2010 , - !Totals , , 33 , , 14 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including NIFL and AIFA playoffs)

2007 Season Schedule

External links

*
Lakeland Thunderbolts' official myspace

Thunderbolts' 2007 Stats
{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes American Indoor Football Association teams Sports in Lakeland, Florida American football teams in Florida American football teams established in 2005 2005 establishments in Florida