Houston ThunderBears

General informationFounded1996Folded2001HeadquarteredCompaq Center
in Houston, TexasColorsNavy, orange, teal
PersonnelHead coachSteve ThonnTeam historyHome fields

• Compaq Center (1996–2000)
• Traveling team in 2001

League / conference affiliationsArena Football League (1996–2001)

• National Conference (1996)
  • Southern Division (1996)
• American Conference (1997–2001)
  • Central Division (1997–2000)
  • Western Division (2001)
    

ChampionshipsDivision championships: 1

• 1998

Prior to 1992, the AFL did not have divisionsPlayoff appearances (1)

• 1998

The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansionTexas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.

The six seasons in which the team played coincided with the absence of the National Football League from the Houston market; the Houston Oilers had announced their departure from the city after the 1996 season, and the Houston Texans began play in 2002. Many of the same issues that led to the Oilers' departure, including poor attendance and a decline in the price of oil that drove Houston's economy, also affected the Thunderbears.