Tucson gained a second professional sports franchise on Thursday. 

And while it doesn’t have a team name just yet, something even more important — a league — is taken care of.

Tucson's expansion franchise will play as part of the Indoor Football League, owners Kevin and Cathy Guy announced at a news conference Thursday at Tucson Arena. The news comes as a bit of a surprise given Guy’s profession: The 45-year-old is the championship-winning head coach of the IFL’s Arizona Rattlers, headquartered in Phoenix. Guy is expected to stay with the Phoenix franchise, while leading a search for Tucson's new general manager and coach.

Ali Farhang, a Tucson attorney and founder of the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl, will serve as the team's minority owner. The ownership group has hired longtime Tucson sports executive Mike Feder as executive director. Feder ran the Triple-A Tucson Toros and Tucson Padres baseball teams, and worked for indoor football teams in both New Orleans and Austin, Texas.

“This is Tucson’s team,” Kevin Guy said. “We love the market and want to be a part of the growth of the downtown district. We feel Tucson is the perfect fit in the Indoor Football league. It fits our strategic plan of developing a Western Conference. It is a high-scoring, fast-paced game where fans can reach out and interact with the players.”

Tucson will be the seventh franchise in the IFL, with an eighth team likely to be added. Tucson’s expansion team joins franchises in Phoenix; Des Moines, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Grand Island, Nebraska; Green Bay, Wisconsin and Sioux Falls, Iowa.

Ownership considered joining Champions Indoor Football, which includes teams in Texas and Nebraska. It’s unclear if it discussed playing in the Arena Football League despite its reputation as the first-ever major indoor football league. The AFL’s status (and footprint) have shrunk in recent years. Its teams are now headquartered along the eastern seaboard.

The IFL’s regular-season schedule typically runs from late-February until June. The United Bowl, the IFL’s championship game, took place July 7.

“On behalf of the Indoor Football League and its member teams, we are excited to welcome the Tucson community to the IFL family,” commissioner Mike Allshouse said. “Kevin and Cathy guy have assembled an amazing staff and their vision for Tucson Indoor Football is quite impressive. We look forward to working with Mike and having team success.”

Thursday’s announcement comes four weeks after the Rio Nuevo board unanimously approved spending $400,000 to convert Tucson Arena for indoor football. The $400,000 allocated for arena football will be used for a turf field, goalposts and locker room improvements. The indoor team will join the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League and the UA club hockey team as Tucson Arena’s main sports tenants.

Fans can place season ticket deposits at TucsonIndoorFootball.com. The website is also home to the name-the-team contest, with a winner to be announced soon.

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