Arena Football's Nashville Kats scheduled to start in 2024

The Arena Football League will return to Nashville in 2024 with the Nashville Kats, the league announced.

The franchise, owned by Nashville Arena Sports, LLC, is scheduled to play home games at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville, with the home opener set for April 27, 2024.

“We are thrilled to be bringing back the AFL to Nashville,” AFL commissioner Lee Hutton said in a release. “Nashville fans are incredibly passionate about football, so we’re excited for fans in that market to have the opportunity to engage with their team in a special way.”

The team’s ownership group will be led by sports and entertainment attorneys Tamara Dadd Alan, CEO, and Nancy Eckert, COO/general counsel, Chairman Chuck McDowell, and partners Greg Pouge and Jeff Fisher.

Jeff Fisher, former Oilers/Titans and St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams head coach, is the President of Football Operations and will help guide the team’s relaunch. He and his staff will be assisted by veteran Nashville media member Greg Pogue, who will also serve as Vice President of Community Relations.

“I am excited to be part of the organization bringing the Arena Football League back to Nashville,” Fisher said. “I have always been a big fan of Arena Football, especially the Nashville Kats when they played here in the past. It is so entertaining with so many talented players and coaches. And in that setting, the fans become so much a part of not only the game, but the overall experience.”

The original AFL began play in 1987, continuing for more than 30 years before ceasing all operations and declaring bankruptcy in 2019.

There were two versions of the Nashville Kats in the AFL. The first played here from 1997-2001, reaching the Arena Bowl in each of its first two years, before moving to Atlanta. The second, which featured former Titans owner Bud Adams as an owner, played in Nashville from 2005-07 before Adams shut down operations.

The Nashville Venom of the Professional Indoor Football League played two seasons in Nashville, winning the league championship in 2014 before the league shut down after the 2015 season.

The new version of the AFL had previously introduced several other new franchises, such as the Oregon Blackbears, Iowa Rampage, Wichita Regulators, Salina Liberty, the Southwest Kansas Story, Rapid City Marshalls, Albany Firebirds, Washington Wolfpack, Orlando Predators, Billings Outlaws and West Texas Desert Hawks.

Season tickets and individual game tickets are on sale now.