Minor league to
Arena Football League; started play in
2000 with 15 teams in the
Southeast, most of which were owned by
East Coast Hockey League owners and shared
arenas with the local
ECHL teams.
As of 2002, af2 had expanded well past this mark, now containing 34 teams in 2 conferences and 8 divisions. The league now blankets virtually every Southeastern and Deep South market not big enough for an AFL team, much of the Midwest, and includes one division in the Northeast and one on the West Coast. The parent AFL plans to further expand Arena Football via af2, perhaps into Japan and Mexico.