The Rio Grande Valley Dorados are a professional indoor football team based in

Hidalgo, Texas Hidalgo is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,198 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 14,183. History The area that is now Hidalgo was first settled by Spanish colonists led by José d ...

. The team originally began play in 2019 as an inaugural member of the International Arena Football League with their home games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena. The league and team folded after the 2019 season. In 2021, the team was reactivated as a member of the

Arena Football Association The Arena Football Association (AFA) is a professional indoor football league based in Texas, Kansas and Mississippi, United States. The league began operation in June 2021 with five teams, known that season as the Lone Star Series. The league ...

for the 2022 season as a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

History

They began play in 2019 as an expansion member of the International Arena Football League with their home games at Payne Arena in Hidalgo,Texas. The new team, owned by Juan and Erika Arevalo, marketed itself as a continuation of the defunct

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

team of the same name. Part-way into their inaugural season, the Dorados announced they would no longer have games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena. The team stated they terminated the lease while arena operators stated the team had broken their lease. They reportedly owed the arena $31,000 in expenses, but came to an agreement to cover their debt with the arena taking ownership of all team's property left at the arena. The team continued the season, operated by the league, as a travel-only team and qualified for the championship game against the Mexico City Mexicah with the second place 4–3 record. The game was played in Mexico and the Dorados lost 58–20. The league and league-owned team appeared to have become defunct before the end of 2019 with all websites dead and no active social media efforts. In November 2021, the team was announced as an inaugural member of the

(AFA) that had been formed from the

Amarillo Venom The Amarillo Venom were a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football Leagu ...

and

West Texas Warbirds The West Texas Warbirds are a professional indoor football team and a member of National Arena League. The Warbirds are based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team was originally a member of Champions Indoor Fo ...

' 2021 Lone Star Series, along with the Texas Jets, former

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL o ...

champions North Texas Bulls, and the Texas Crude. The team website was reactivated and was now owned my Mario Rey. The team was scheduled to have no home games in 2022 and will play as a

References

External links

Official website

IAFL official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2019-) International Arena Football League American football teams in Texas Sports in the Rio Grande Valley Rio Grande Valley Dorados