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32-687: Pittsburgh was the fourth city added for the 2011 AFL season , joining the San Jose SaberCats , Kansas City Command and their new in-state rivals the Philadelphia Soul – who were all returning to the Arena Football League after a two-year absence. The franchise competed through the 2014 season, where they finished a franchise best 15–3, but ownership decided to cease operations on November 17, 2014. AFL Commissioner Scott Butera said, "We are trying to affect

64-418: A labor disagreement between the owners and the players' union. However, with the aid of a few replacements , the team managed to win 40–26. Following the victory, 22 of the 24 released players were offered their jobs back (quarterback Kyle Rowley and kicker Taylor Rowan being the lone exceptions), with 18 immediately accepting and returning to the team. Neil Purvis signed a contract a few days later, bringing

96-913: A score of 39–26. The following season was the Gladiators' fourth and last in Pittsburgh after co-owner Bob Greis decided to move the franchise to Tampa, Florida . The team was renamed the Tampa Bay Storm . Greis, who had several business interests in Florida, sold the franchise a few years later. During the Storms' first year in Tampa , the team defeated the Detroit Drive, 48–42, to win ArenaBowl V . The Storm remained in Tampa and reached

128-574: A transaction that will allow the Power to continue to play in Pittsburgh." The team did not play as part of the AFL for the 2015 season, nor has it subsequently. Prior to the announcement of Pittsburgh's 2011 expansion team, the city was the home to the Pittsburgh Gladiators, one of the four original franchises of the Arena Football League in 1987. The AFL's very first league game, not counting

160-534: The Milwaukee Mustangs on January 27, 2011, taking the name of the original franchise . The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was awarded an expansion team on August 20, 2010. The team, named the Pittsburgh Power , was the first AFL team to call Pittsburgh home since the Pittsburgh Gladiators, one of the league's four original franchises. The Gladiators moved to Tampa, Florida and became

192-541: The Philadelphia Soul in overtime by a score of 58–52. Despite this loss, the Power led the East Division with a 7–4 record at the end of week 13. However, they lost five of their final seven games, falling to 9–9 at the end of the season and finishing second in the division. On March 9, 2012, the entire Pittsburgh Power roster was released prior to its opening game against the Orlando Predators due to

224-633: The Tampa Bay Storm after the 1990 season . The only team that did not return from the 2010 season was the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz . Owner Phil Miller made the announcement on October 21, 2010, citing an inability to find minority investors as one reason for the decision to not compete. With several teams relocating, returning, or leaving, the AFL announced the divisional alignment for 2011 on October 21, 2010. Both conferences each had nine teams placed in two divisions. Each team played an 18-game regular season with two bye weeks over

256-703: The 2011 season, after an announcement made on June 19, 2010. Two teams that competed in 2010 relocated and have assumed the history of former AFL franchises. It was announced on August 21, 2010 that the Alabama Vipers would become the Georgia Force , and on September 14, 2010 it was revealed that the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings would become the New Orleans VooDoo . The Milwaukee Iron officially changed its name to

288-540: The 2013 season, the Power made drastic changes to their roster. In addition to reassigning nearly every player from the previous season's roster, the team acquired quarterback Tommy Grady and wide receiver Aaron Lesué in the Utah Blaze dispersal draft. The Power also traded their franchise leader in nearly every receiving category, Mike Washington , to the Spokane Shock for quarterback Arvell Nelson . Near

320-475: The Civic Arena, such as updated luxury suites. The current AFL policy is to give expansion teams in markets previously served by AFL teams the same name as their predecessor, since the league owns almost all rights to all team names in the league's history. However, because the unrelated Cleveland Gladiators already use the "Gladiators" name, that required the adoption of a new franchise name. Incidentally,

352-401: The Gladiators failed to field enough players and forfeited, making the Power the first team in Arena Football League history to win in this manner. On June 16, Power kicker Geoff Boyer successfully converted a two-point drop kick against the Milwaukee Mustangs . It was the first successful drop kick in the Arena Football League since 1997. With a 5–13 record, the Power failed to qualify for

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384-549: The Power returned home to face the Philadelphia Soul , whom they had never defeated at Consol Energy Center . The Power set a new record against the Soul for points scored at home (65) in what would become their first of 12 consecutive wins to conclude the regular season. During this streak, the Power set new team records for wins in a season (15), consecutive wins (12), consecutive home wins (8) and consecutive road wins (6). The Power clinched their first winning season on June 14 against

416-583: The Power's logo is a thunderbolt, the same as a previous Cleveland AFL team, Cleveland Thunderbolts . The team was originally rumored to be called the Pittsburgh River Wizards , according to sports blog Inside Pittsburgh Sports and by Pittsburgh-area radio host Mark Madden . The team name was changed to the Power before the official announcement by the team. The Power played their first game in franchise history on March 11, 2011 at Consol Energy Center in front of 13,904 fans. They lost to

448-662: The Power, joining Shaner and Swann. The team will be run with a board of directors that will be chaired by Shaner, with Ralph Martin and Swann also on the board. The franchise enjoyed the best season in 2014, posting a 15-3 record and earning their first playoff berth, but on November 17, 2014, the Power ownership group decided to cease operations. Fullbacks Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Kickers Unsigned free agents The following Power players were named to All-Arena Teams: The following Power players were named to All-Ironman Teams: The Power had three coaches through their history. Their first coach

480-612: The Soul and their first playoff berth on June 20 against the Iowa Barnstormers . In the original ownership group, Matt Shaner was the principal owner and general manager of the team. Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann , an NFL Hall-of-Famer and Republican 2006 gubernatorial nominee , was also part of the team's ownership group. Shaner's family owns the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel . Like Swann, Matt Shaner

512-546: The Utah Blaze from 2011 to 2013. Narcisse was the first of several players that James brought to the Power from his coaching tenures with the Blaze and Las Vegas Gladiators . James led the Power to three consecutive wins in his first three games, during which the Power outscored opponents by a combined score of 174–78. However, back-to-back road trips to undefeated Arizona and Cleveland brought consecutive losses. At 3–3,

544-647: The Year. Josh Lay Bernard " Josh " Lay (born September 8, 1982) is a former American football cornerback . He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL draft . He played college football at Pittsburgh . Lay was also a member of the St. Louis Rams , Berlin Thunder , California Redwoods , and Pittsburgh Power . Lay attended Aliquippa High School , where he

576-421: The course of 20 weeks, making it the longest schedule in the history of the league. The first game of the season was played on March 11, 2011. The Pittsburgh Power began their inaugural season against the Philadelphia Soul , who played their first game since winning ArenaBowl XXII in 2008. On July 9, the Spokane Shock and Utah Blaze played in a game billed as the "Joe Albi Stadium Summer Classic". The game

608-515: The end of the off-season, the team acquired wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez in a trade with the Orlando Predators . By the time of the season opener, the Power's 24-man roster contained only four players who had played with the team in 2013 ( Curtis Young , Brandon Freeman, Sergio Gilliam and Julian Rauch). On March 15, the Power opened the season against the Cleveland Gladiators . After a net recovery touchdown by Arvell Nelson in

640-639: The league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks , in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs. Three franchises that competed in the 2008 season , the Philadelphia Soul , San Jose SaberCats , and Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade), returned to competition in

672-485: The playoffs in each of their next 15 seasons, winning four more AFL titles. In 2011, Jerry Kurz , the commissioner of the Arena Football League, stated to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the Gladiators move to Tampa had nothing to do with the attendance for the games. He instead stated that the issues that prompted the team to relocate had more to do with the lack of additional accouterments at

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704-421: The playoffs with a last place finish in the division. On March 23, the Power opened the 2013 season against the Utah Blaze . The Power were still in the playoff hunt through Week 10 with a 3–6 record, but a 7-game losing streak lost the Power their chance at a playoff spot. With a 4–14 record, the Power failed to qualify for the playoffs with a last place finish in the division. During the off-season following

736-739: The playtest games at the Rockford MetroCenter and the Rosemont Horizon , was played in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena between the Gladiators and Washington Commandos . The Gladiators would go on to lose ArenaBowl I to the Denver Dynamite , 45–16, that season in a game played at the Civic Arena. Two years later, the team lost ArenaBowl III , held at Joe Louis Arena , to the Detroit Drive by

768-495: The team on a 34–3 run, taking the game into overtime. After the Predators kicked a field goal to make it 54–51, P. J. Berry returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the Predators' 19-yard line. On the very next play, Cassidy connected with Christian Wise for a touchdown to win the game 57–54. On June 8, the Power were scheduled to face the Cleveland Gladiators at Quicken Loans Arena . However, due to yet another labor dispute,

800-486: The third quarter, the Power took a 45–28 lead. However, the Gladiators outscored the Power 35–8 the rest of the way to pull out a comeback victory. Head coach Derek Stingley was fired six days later and replaced by former Utah Blaze head coach Ron James . James's first move was to acquire center Antonio Narcisse from the Portland Thunder . Narcisse had played with quarterback Tommy Grady (and under James) with

832-660: The total to 19. Defensive backs Josh Lay and Tyrrell Herbert and offensive lineman Dan Jones elected not to re-sign with the Power and were consequentially placed on the League Suspension list. Jones was traded to the Kansas City Command on May 2, 2012. On April 14, the Power orchestrated the largest comeback in Arena Football League history. Down 48–17 in the third quarter to the Orlando Predators , backup quarterback Derek Cassidy led

864-413: Was Chris Siegfried , who coached them to a 9–9 record in 2011 . Siegfried had the longest term as head coach with the Power. Hired during the 2012 season , the Power's second coach was Derek Stingley . Ron James was hired as the team's third coach one game into the 2014 season . 2011 Arena Football League season The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of

896-462: Was a three-year starter at cornerback. He was a prep school quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback at Valley Forge Military Academy in 2001 before attending Pittsburgh. Lay was selected in the sixth round (174th pick overall) of the 2006 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints . On July 17, 2006, he agreed to a three-year contract with the Saints. He was waived by the Saints on September 1. Lay

928-533: Was once a political candidate. In 2008 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . After the Colorado Crush , Kansas City Command , and Philadelphia Soul , the Power are the fourth team in Arena Football League history to have a former NFL player as part of its ownership group. On February 7, 2014, Trib Total Media purchased a multimillion-dollar stake in

960-519: Was played outdoors at Joe Albi Stadium under normal arena football rules. Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining. Final statistics On August 8, 2011, the All-Ironman team was announced, with P. J. Berry of the New Orleans VooDoo being named the Ironman of

992-401: Was signed by the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League on February 24, 2011. During the 2011 season, he played in 14 games for the Power, starting 10. He made 34.5 tackles and intercepted 4 passes, returning 1 for a touchdown. He re-signed with the team on December 5, 2011. However, following a players' strike, Lay was placed on League Suspension on April 5, 2012, where he remained for

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1024-661: Was signed by the Rams on December 13, 2006. The team assigned him to the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europa on February 24, 2007. The Rams waived Lay on August 31, 2007. He was then signed to their practice squad on September 5, 2007. He was released from the practice squad on September 11, 2007. Lay was signed by the California Redwoods of the United Football League on September 2, 2009. Lay

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