Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2019)

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados are a professional indoor football team based in Hidalgo, Texas. The team originally began play in 2019 as an inaugural member of the International Arena Football League with their home games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena. The league and team folded after the 2019 season. In 2021, the team was reactivated as a member of the Arena Football Association for the 2022 season as a traveling team.

This article is about the International Arena Football League team. For the defunct af2 team of the same name that operated from 2005 to 2009, see Rio Grande Valley Dorados.
Rio Grande Valley Dorados
Established 2019
Play in Hidalgo, Texas
RGV-Dorados.com
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsNavy blue, red, gold, white
       
Personnel
Owner(s)Juan and Erika Arevalo (early 2019)
International Arena Football League (mid-2019)
Mario Rey (2021–present)[1]
Head coachBennie King[1]
Team history
  • Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2019–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (1)
  • 2019
Home arena(s)

History

They began play in 2019 as an expansion member of the International Arena Football League with their home games at Payne Arena in Hidalgo,Texas. The new team, owned by Juan and Erika Arevalo, marketed itself as a continuation of the defunct af2 team of the same name.[2][3][4][5][6]

Part-way into their inaugural season, the Dorados announced they would no longer have games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena. The team stated they terminated the lease while arena operators stated the team had broken their lease.[7] They reportedly owed the arena $31,000 in expenses, but came to an agreement to cover their debt with the arena taking ownership of all team's property left at the arena.[8] The team continued the season, operated by the league, as a travel-only team and qualified for the championship game against the Mexico City Mexicah with the second place 4–3 record.[9] The game was played in Mexico and the Dorados lost 58–20.

The league and league-owned team appeared to have become defunct before the end of 2019 with all websites dead and no active social media efforts.

In November 2021, the team was announced as an inaugural member of the Arena Football Association (AFA) that had been formed from the Amarillo Venom and West Texas Warbirds' 2021 Lone Star Series, along with the Texas Jets, former American Arena League champions North Texas Bulls, and the Texas Crude.[10] The team website was reactivated and was now owned my Mario Rey.[11][1] The team was scheduled to have no home games in 2022 and will play as a traveling team.[12]

References
  1. "Staff". Rio Grande Valley Dorados. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  2. Arena Football Returning to Rio Grande Valley With Dorados Name, Alex Del Barrio, Valley Central website, January 14, 2019
  3. RGV DORADOS PRESS CONFERENCE, IAFL official website, January 18, 2019
  4. Dorados, arena football, return to Hidalgo after a decade, Henry Miller, The Monitor, January 19, 2019
  5. RGV Dorados return to Valley, Bryan Ramos, Progress Times, January 24, 2019
  6. RGV Dorados vs Austin Wild Arena Football, Rio Sports Live YouTube channel, March 9, 2019
  7. "Dorados suspends 'all football operations' at arena". The Monitor. May 8, 2019.
  8. "Dorados hope to salvage season at Bert Ogden Arena". The Monitor. May 9, 2019.
  9. "2019 IAFL INTERNATIONAL ARENA BOWL". IAFL. June 5, 2019.
  10. "Sponsors And Investors See Ground-Floor Opportunities With The Expansion Of Arena Football Association". PR Newswire. November 4, 2021.
  11. "The Dorados return to arena football". ValleyCental.com. November 14, 2021.
  12. "RGV Dorados full schedule announced". ValleyCentral.com. February 24, 2022.
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