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

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

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

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

History

The Harrisburg Heat were first formed during the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

– 92 season by Dr. Rex Herbert, following the folding of the Hershey Impact, 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 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

– 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 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

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 professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

, a rebranding of the PASL. The original Heat's home arena was in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.

Year-by-year

Ownership

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

Staff

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

Head coaches

*1991–99 Jim Pollihan *1999-02 Richard Chinapoo *2002–03 Erich Geyer

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