The Family Arena is a multi-purpose arena in St. Charles, Missouri , built in 1999.
27-566: Currently it is home to the St. Louis Ambush of the Major Arena Soccer League . The arena seats 9,643 for hockey, 9,755 for football, 10,467 for basketball, 6,339 for half-house concerts and up to 11,522 for end-stage concerts. In addition to sporting events, concerts, circuses and ice shows the arena is also used for trade shows with a total of 39,900 square feet (3,710 m) of exhibit space (17,900 square feet (1,660 m) on
54-546: A professional indoor soccer team based in St. Charles, Missouri . They are the second team to use this name. This version of the Ambush play in the Major Arena Soccer League while the original St. Louis Ambush played in the National Professional Soccer League . The current ownership group of the Ambush is Shelly and Will Clark, and Jeff and Heather Locker The Ambush originally joined
81-689: The Chicago Storm , folded along with the XSL. Shortly after the Wave joined the NISL, the Massachusetts Twisters folded, leaving the 2009–10 season with only five teams again. Shortly before the league launched its 2009–10 season, the opportunity arose to purchase the rights to the "Major Indoor Soccer League" name; the league successfully acquired the rights and immediately rebranded itself as
108-639: The Major Indoor Soccer League in 2013. In their only season as members of the MISL, the Ambush posted only four wins while losing 16 games. After the 2013–2014 season, the team announced that it was leaving the MISL along with five other teams to join the Major Arena Soccer League . At a May 3, 2016, press conference in Lakeland, Florida , it was announced the Ambush were moving to the newly established Indoor Professional League (IPL) with
135-664: The Massachusetts Twisters , were brought in to take the place of the Sharks. In July 2009, the XSL announced they were going on a one-year hiatus due to a lack of monetary backing during the Great Recession . The NISL attempted to attract the former MISL teams from the folded XSL to join for the 2009–10 season, and succeeded in acquiring the Milwaukee Wave as a result. The other XSL franchises, minus
162-725: The National Indoor Soccer League , was a professional indoor soccer league which began play in 2008. It was the third league to be known as the Major Indoor Soccer League after the MISL I and MISL II . The MISL name is arguably the most recognizable name in indoor soccer due to its history dating back to 1978. The league name and assets are currently owned by the United Soccer Leagues . The departure of six teams which joined
189-626: The United Soccer Leagues (USL), which also oversees the men's USL Pro and USL Premier Development Leagues proposed a new league which was to begin play in the fall of 2011, the ' USL I-League . However, in May 2011, the USL, struggling to sign teams for the new league, agreed instead to take over operation of the MISL. Three teams from the proposed league were added: the Norfolk SharX , Rochester Lancers and Syracuse Silver Knights . In June 2012,
216-528: The "Frozen Four," was held at the Family Arena in 2017. The quarterfinals were contested at the campuses of the seeded teams on March 11, 2017. The Frozen Four was played on March 17 and 19, 2017 at Family Arena, with Lindenwood University serving as the host. An agreement with the Big Ten Network resulted in the championship game being televised live for the first time since 2010. The tournament
243-539: The 2018 off-season the franchise announced that it was bringing back the Ambush Brigade dance team as an "effort to improve game-day entertainment". The Brigade has seen a recent name change and are now known as the Bombshells. The Ambush finished with a record of 8–7 in the abbreviated 2021 season. This was the first winning record for the Ambush since the team started in 2013. The Ambush finished fourth in
270-458: The 2019–2020 season where the team ended with a 10–14 record. Hewerton officially retired as a player after the season and now serves as the full time head coach for the team. In December 2019, Tony Glavin and Dr. Elizabeth Perez sold their interest in the Ambush to St Charles natives, Jeff and Heather Locker and they join Shelly and Will Clark in the ownership of the Ambush. In the first week of
297-409: The Ambush finished 4-14-6. As of July 15, 2023. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Following a 2–4 start to the 21–22 season, Greg Muhr resigned as head coach of
SECTION 10
#1732794535008324-531: The Ambush. The role was filled by co-owner and general manager, Jeff Locker. During the 2013–14 season, the Ambush used both the lower bowl and upper deck of the Family Arena . Since 2014, the Ambush have only used the lower bowl for seating fans. The lower bowl of the Family Arena has a capacity of about 5,000 fans. During the 2021 season, the Family Arena hosted home games for the Ambush and some playoff games, with socially distanced seating. The upper deck of
351-686: The Arena was also opened up for seating for the first time for indoor soccer games since 2014. Extra precautions were taken, such as having all fans travel in one direction on the concourse, to ensure safe distancing, and air flow in the arena was enhanced. In 2024, St. Charles County announced it was investing $ 13 million in upgrades to the facility, including new lower bowl seating, new video and ribbon boards, and interior public Wi-Fi. http://www.stlambush.com/stats#/player/133881/bio Nick Kolarac Major Indoor Soccer League (2008%E2%80%9314) The Major Indoor Soccer League ( MISL ), originally known as
378-572: The Baltimore Blast and expansion franchise Florida Tropics SC . However, on August 29, 2016, it was announced that all IPL teams would be joining (or re-joining) the MASL. The MASL had a "free agent" period for the first two weeks of May 2017, where any players who were free agents were free to negotiate with any team in the league. The St. Louis Ambush failed to sign any players during the "free agent" period, though few players changed teams in
405-689: The MISL announced that a new Chicago franchise was awarded to Armando Gamboa and Dave Mokry for the 2012–13 season. The club was subsequently named the Chicago Soul, with the club making its home at the Sears Centre . Meanwhile, the Norfolk SharX announced that the team would cease operations effective immediately because of financial difficulties. A new incarnation of the St. Louis Ambush were announced as an expansion team in June 2013. This
432-821: The Professional Arena Soccer League (now the Major Arena Soccer League ) after the 2013–14 season effectively ended the MISL. The NISL was one of three leagues that organized in late 2008 after the demise of the second MISL; the other two being the PASL-Pro (an offshoot of the Premier Arena Soccer League ) and the Xtreme Soccer League . The NISL and the XSL were more closely related, with both leagues first announcing four former MISL teams respectively and using
459-575: The arena floor and 22,000 square feet (2,000 m) on the arena concourse). In December of 2023, it was announced that the Family Area was getting a $ 13 million dollar makeover. Until Chaifetz Arena opened in 2008, Family Arena was the St. Louis stop for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus , Disney on Ice and Champions on Ice . The latter moved to Chaifetz that year while
486-665: The circus and Disney on Ice moved to Enterprise Center to replace the St. Louis Billikens , who had also moved to Chaifetz. From 2008 to 2015, the Family Arena was host to the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The Family Arena has served as an annual location for one of many world wide regional Bible conventions hosted by Jehovah's Witnesses . The Christian rock band MercyMe performed at Family Arena annually from 2007 until 2013. The Family Arena has also been host to nationally televised professional wrestling events. The arena
513-433: The end of August 2017 prior to team tryouts. On August 28, 2017, the St. Louis Ambush named Hewerton Moreira as their player/head coach. In the 2017–18 season, the first under Moreira's leadership, the on field woes continued for the Ambush as they finished the season with a record of 3–19. At one point, the team went an entire year without a single win. Nonetheless, Moreira's contract was extended on April 16, 2018, through
540-404: The league during this period in May. On December 14, 2015, Tony Glavin took over as the head coach of the St. Louis Ambush and served as the head coach for the remainder of the 2015–2016 season. Glavin continued as head coach in the 2016–2017 season and would finish with a 1–19 record. During the off-season a committee was formed to search for a new coach, with the position expected to be filled by
567-638: The newest MISL. The MISL expanded into Missouri (Kansas City area) and Omaha starting with the 2010–11 season. For the 2010–11 season, the league consisted of only five teams, with the Rockford Rampage and Monterrey La Raza no longer active league members. On October 15, 2010, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported the exodus of the Philadelphia KiXX and the addition of a Chicago franchise. In October 2010,
SECTION 20
#1732794535008594-409: The possibility of not having a 2014–15 playing season existed. In the following months, six of the seven teams from the final MISL season joined the Professional Arena Soccer League, which was renamed the Major Arena Soccer League . This was the effective end of MISL III. † Never played an NISL/MISL game A third "mini-game" had to decide the winner after one or more series were tied at 1 game
621-565: The same game rules as the MISL. Originally, five teams had been announced to play in the inaugural season; four who were in the previous MISL (Baltimore, Monterrey, Orlando Sharks, and Philadelphia) and one formerly in the American Indoor Soccer League (Rockford). However, the Orlando Sharks were forced to go inactive because of scheduling conflicts with Amway Arena . Later, a second former AISL franchise,
648-554: The standings, of the seven teams which played in the 2021 season. Several of the league teams were unable to play due to COVID-19 restrictions in their home cities. The Ambush also made their first playoff appearance since returning to indoor soccer in 2013. The Ambush lost both games of a two-game series to the Kansas City Comets in March 2021. However, the Ambush have since been below .500 for three consecutive years. In 2024,
675-412: Was St. Louis' first professional indoor soccer team since the St. Louis Steamers folded in 2006. One day after the 2013–14 MISL Championship game, USL President Tim Holt released a video stating that the USL was reevaluating the MISL to create a more "sustainable" league that features the highest level of professional indoor soccer. He noted that the process would take "more than a few months" and that
702-597: Was the site of the ECW 's Wrestlepalooza 2000 event on April 16, 2000. The arena also hosted Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 's Lockdown pay-per-view on April 15, 2007 and the 2010 edition on April 18, 2010. The arena also hosted Ring of Honor ’s Gateway to Honor on February 29, 2020. The arena has hosted commencement ceremonies for Lindenwood University , Missouri Baptist University and Maryville University as well as for several area high schools. The 2017 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, known as
729-669: Was won by Clarkson with a 3–0 win over Wisconsin , giving the Golden Knights their second title in program history. Family Arena served as the former home of the St. Louis Swarm basketball team, the Missouri River Otters and St. Charles Chill ice hockey teams, the RiverCity Rage and River City Raiders indoor football teams, and the St. Louis Steamers indoor soccer team. St. Louis Ambush (2013%E2%80%93) The St. Louis Ambush are
#7992