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33-462: After receiving unanimous approval by the IFL's existing 9 teams, the new Billings franchise was formally announced by IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse during a press conference on February 19, 2014. The city was previously home to the IFL's Billings Outlaws who folded in 2010 after the so-called Father's Day Tornado heavily damaged their home arena. In April 2014, the team signed a two-year contract with

66-960: A .500 plus record and missed out on the playoffs in 2003. In 2004, the Billings squad dominated their way to a record of 11–3. But, the Outlaws would be triumphed in Sioux Falls in the Conference Semi-Finals. After a great year, the Billings Outlaws became the Billings Mavericks. This fell into place when the Osceola Outlaws joined the NIFL . The two teams disputed over who should be named the Outlaws. The league commissioner decided to strip both teams of

99-410: A lead of 44–43 but with less tham 5 seconds left in the game Sioux Falls kicker Adam Hicks booted a 45-yard field goal through the uprights as the clock expired to claim a 46–44 win. The Outlaws were very frustrated after the game and had reasons. The Outlaws kicker went 1 of 4 on field goals in the Billings loss. Billings had lost two games earlier that season because of their horrid kicking game. After

132-725: A pre-season game against the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves prevailed 88–82. MetraPark is a longtime tour stop for the PBR 's Built Ford Tough Series (known as the Bud Light Cup until 2003), which has visited the arena every year since 1996. In the summer of 2005, MetraPark hosted tryouts for the All-American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), a new minor basketball league. The tryouts took place from July 11 to 22, 2005. However,

165-536: A professional league indoor football team based in Billings, Montana . They were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), of which they were the 2-time defending champions. They played their home games at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark . Their games were broadcast live locally on News Talk 910 KBLG AM and online through Teamline. The team originally began play as a 2000 expansion member of

198-563: A team to fear as the Outlaws finished off the final ten games going 8–2. Even with all the confidence and momentum they could not hold up against the Sioux Falls Storm in the second round of the playoffs. The 2008 season was a more exciting and successful year but yet again the Outlaws would lose to Sioux Falls in the Western Conference Finals but this game was more heart pounding as the Billings Outlaws held

231-421: Is a multi-purpose arena located at MetraPark, the fairgrounds of Billings, Montana . The arena has a capacity of 8,700 for ice hockey and indoor football games, 10,500 for basketball , and up to 12,000 for concerts . The arena hosts a variety of local sporting, musical, and other events. It has also hosted professional sporting competitions. In 2005, MetraPark Arena marked its 30th anniversary. The arena

264-592: The Osceola Outlaws led to the NIFL stripping both teams of the Outlaws name. However, as of June 11, 2006, the NIFL recognized Billings as the Outlaws again. The Outlaws first year in the playoffs. Many people thought it would be unexpected of Billings to make it all the way to the championship especially after coming second in their division but they did so and proved many wrong. It was not easy, as Bismarck

297-734: The Rapid City Flying Aces in a high intensity game that came down to the end. The Outlaws then hosted the NIFL Indoor Bowl VI on July 28, 2006, in front of a sold out MetraPark and beat the Fayetteville Guard 59–44 in an offensive showcase. After the 2006 season, the Outlaws announced they were joining United Indoor Football for the 2007 season. [1] The first season for the Outlaws in the UIF started out terrible as they fell to 0–4. Soon after, they became

330-984: The Sioux Falls Storm following his consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010 with the Outlaws. A training facility costing around $ 3 million was built for the Outlaws and opened in March 2007. A facility of this nature is unprecedented in any indoor or arena league other than the Arena Football League . Photos of this facility can be found here . The facility is called the Outlaws Community SportsPlex. This facility has been used for many events and purposes such as practice, fundraisers, birthday parties, Montana State University Billings' Inter-Tribal Indian Club's Powwow, try-outs, and much more. Head Coach- Heron O'Neal Offensive Line- Artavious Williams Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark First Interstate Arena (colloquially known as The Metra)

363-615: The Sioux Falls Storm twice. The Outlaws again won the United Bowl , this time over long-time rival Sioux Falls by a score of 43–34 on July 17, 2010, in front of a packed house in the Sportsplex. The original home of the Outlaws, the Metrapark was heavily damaged by an F2 tornado following their last game of the regular season. On October 7, 2010, the Outlaws announced they would cease operations due to not having enough money for

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396-713: The Yellowstone County Commission making the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark the team's home arena in 2015 and 2016. The lease cost the team $ 3,000 per game in 2015 and $ 3,500 per game in 2016, plus an "improvement fee" of $ 1.25 to $ 4.00, varying with the face value of the ticket. The contract waives the rental fee for the final home game of each season. Season tickets went on sale April 7, 2014. The team initially announced James Walton as head coach but on July 31, 2014, they signed just-retired former Billings Outlaws quarterback Chris Dixon for

429-593: The 2 seed in the Intense Conference, however they lost their first playoff game in franchise history 52–64 to the Nebraska Danger . During the 2016 season, the Wolves' website was hacked, was never completely fixed, and was non-operational for months. Several former staff members claimed that the team had folded after the completion of the season. On October 24, 2016, the Wolves announced they had left

462-540: The 2011 season, this was in large part due to a disagreement with county commissioners over funding non-insured losses suffered during the 2010 tornado that severely damaged the Rimrock Auto Arena . Indoor football would return to Billings five years later when the IFL awarded Billings an expansion franchise, the Billings Wolves . The Wolves were coached in their first year by former Outlaws quarterback Chris Dixon who had gone on to win three more IFL titles with

495-590: The IFL Week 10 Offensive Player of the Week and Week 9 IFL Honorable Mention Player of the Week, tying a franchise record for TD passes in consecutive weeks. After Espinosa was sidelined due to injury, going 3–3 as the starter, the Wolves turned to another rookie, Cory Murphy, who ran for a franchise record 6 rushing touchdowns in a 49–39 victory over the Colorado Crush . The Wolves finished the season 8–8, earning

528-479: The IFL because of state regulations and failing to find new ownership for the team. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams The following is a list of all Wolves' players who have won league Awards Billings Outlaws National Indoor Football League (2001–2006) United Indoor Football (2007–2008) Indoor Football League ( 2009 – 2010 ) The Billings Outlaws were

561-625: The Indoor Football League IFL . The Billings Outlaws played in the league from 2000 to 2010 before disbanding following the June 2010 Father's Day tornado. In 2015, the league expanded adding the Billings Wolves but only lasted two seasons before folding as well. MetraPark has hosted pre-season NBA games on a semi-regular basis. The Arena played host to the first ever game for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder on October 8, 2008 in

594-409: The Wolves first victory, Britt suffered an injury that sidelined him for the next three games, where the Wolves would fail to win a game. Upon Britt's return to the team, the Wolves improved dramatically on offense and the Wolves won 4 of their last 5 games. The Wolves finished their first season 5–9, finishing fourth in the Intense Conference. At the conclusion of the season, defensive back Michael Green

627-504: The arena went by the name Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark. It is owned by Yellowstone County . On June 20, 2010, the Father's Day Tornado hit the arena, causing major damage In 2010–2011 the arena was remodeled, resulting in many new amenities such as improved acoustics, more restrooms and concession areas, and easier access from the parking areas. The arena is an energy efficient building with contemporary aesthetics. On April 10, 2011, with

660-895: The arena. The new name of the facility would be First Interstate Arena at MetraPark. The Arena remains the largest indoor concert venue in Montana and hosts an average of 9–12 concerts each year. In 2015, The Eagles set a record for the largest grossing concert at the venue, grossing $ 1.4 million in tickets sold . Other major concert performances at the arena included Aerosmith , Beach Boys , Black Sabbath , Garth Brooks , Johnny Cash , Cher , Def Leppard , John Denver , Neil Diamond , Elton John , Fleetwood Mac , Foo Fighters , Foreigner , Merle Haggard , Jethro Tull , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Tim McGraw , Metallica , Mötley Crüe , Willie Nelson , Nickelback , Rush , Bob Seger , Slayer , George Strait , Styx , Carrie Underwood , Van Halen , and ZZ Top . The Arena has been home to two teams with

693-488: The best team in the league and proved it against the RiverCity Rage by defeating them in the United Bowl 71–62 in front of a near capacity crowd of 8,351. Kicking off the season at home, the Outlaws had a brutal win over Kent, one of the new league franchises. Not long after the win, the Outlaws suffered a loss on a no-call on pass interference, this left Sioux Falls victorious and the Outlaws dumbfounded with 1 in

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726-408: The end but lost by a disheartening three points and Everett moved on to the next round of the playoffs. The 2006 season was a success as the Outlaws were handed only one loss in Week 2 to Tri-Cities Fever but then redeemed themselves by beating Tri-Cities three times that same year including a win in the playoffs. After defeating Tri-Cities in the first round, the Outlaws took down their league rival

759-633: The end of the 2008 season they became members of the Indoor Football League through the UIF's merger with the Intense Football League . During the 2009 season the Outlaws had played tough and received two losses which came at the Omaha Civic Auditorium against the Omaha Beef . The second loss was very controversial as the Outlaws came on the field to tie the game up with one second remaining, but an Outlaws player

792-579: The job. The Wolves played their first ever game on February 28, 2015, losing 30–17 to the Tri-Cities Fever . The Wolves struggled to win early on, beginning the season on a 4 game losing streak. On April 18, 2015, the Wolves picked up their first ever victory, 56–37 over the Green Bay Blizzard . The Wolves offense was being paced by rookie quarterback Dakaratalib Britt, who had thrown for 13 touchdowns in his first 3 games, but during

825-533: The league folded shortly thereafter. MetraPark has also played host to various WWE , WCW and UWF wrestling events including a live televised WCW Monday Nitro television show on June 19, 2000. In 2017, First Interstate Arena hosted the NAIA Women's DI Basketball Tournament. In 2022, a new version of the Billings Outlaws began play at the arena as members of Champions Indoor Football and now

858-629: The loss column, and the second and last loss was controversial because the Outlaws were called for three penalties in the final minute of the game to which Fairbanks countered with a last second score to win 55–54. The Outlaws rebounded after the loss with a scoring onslaught to defeat the Tri-Cities Fever twice, the Kent Predators once, the San Angelo Stampede Express once, the Arkansas Diamonds once, and

891-554: The name and make each team pick a new one for the 2005 season. The Mavericks became the new team to cheer for, but they came to the end of their worst season in this franchises ten-year history. They fell to 5–9 on the season but managed to make the playoffs. They played the Everett Hawks in Washington. As the underdog, some players saw a miracle on the horizon. But, the happy ending was cut short. The Mavericks held strong in

924-628: The original Indoor Football League as the Billings Thunderbolts . Despite a winning record of 8–6, it was not enough to make the playoffs. When the league folded, they became a charter member of the National Indoor Football League in 2001 and became the Billings Outlaws until the 2005 season when they were the Billings Mavericks and the start of the 2006 season, when a naming dispute with

957-521: The outer arena still under construction, Elton John played the first concert in the Arena since the tornado. On February 21, 2007, Rimrock Auto Group announced a 10-year, US $ 1 million naming rights deal for the arena. Beginning July 1, 2007 it became known as the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark. On June 3, 2019, First Interstate Bank announced a 5-year US$ 875,000 naming rights deal for

990-490: Was in for a fight. Both games were decided in the final minute, in which Outlaws prevailed. The championship game was the same other than the difference that the Ohio Valley Greyhounds took home the win and proved to be the best team winning 55–52 and pulling out an overall record that year of 15–1 while the Outlaws finished the season with an overall record of 12–5. The Outlaws played hard but fell short of

1023-526: Was injured, requiring ten seconds to be run off the clock resulting in a 48–45 victory for the Beef. The Outlaws had won seven in a row until that loss but on the streak it included three wins against the four time defending UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm with scores of 42–41, 70–35, and 34–22. The last of these games was in Sioux Falls and snapped the Storm's 35 home-game win streak. The Outlaws then were considered

Billings Wolves - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-653: Was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year. With the return of Britt for the 2016 season, the Wolves looked to be a playoff contender out of the gates. However after a 2–2 start, Britt injured his elbow forcing the Wolves to start rookie Jawad Yatim. Yatim lost what ended up being his only start due to suffering an injury. The Wolves then signed Mason Espinosa away from the Columbus Lions . Espinosa stepped in immediately, and put up passing numbers that made him

1089-531: Was renovated in 2010 and 2011 at a cost of $ 27 million. The arena was completed in 1975 and named the METRA, an acronym that stood for Montana Entertainment Trade and Recreation Arena. It was built at the Midland Empire Fairgrounds, which later was renamed MetraPark, at which time the arena became MetraPark Arena. The naming rights were sold to Billings-based Rimrock Auto Group in 2007 and

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