Portland’s Arena Football League Team Allegedly Stiffed The People Who Loved It

KGW investigation finds the Portland Steel ceased operations without paying its bills.

Happier Days: Forest Dragons in 2014

Arena League Football was an acquired taste that Portlanders never really seemed to acquire.

Played indoors and in the summer, the game struggled to find a toe-hold in a city where people prefer hiking and kickball when the weather is good.

The league expanded to Portland in 2014, coming to town under owner Terry Emmert.

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Emmert's Portland Thunder drew modest but reasonable crowds to the Moda Center.

But in 2016, for reasons that were never fully explained, the league took over the team and renamed it the Portland Steel.

Things turned south quickly and the Steel folded after one season. That's when things got ugly, KGW's Kyle Iboshi reports.

Although the AFL still operates in other cities, it allegedly failed to pay suppliers, employees and contractors in Portland.

"I'm still without the money they owe me and so are several others," Andrew Holland, former equipment manager for the Portland Steel told KGW. "You don't expect this from a professional sports league."

The league didn't respond to KGW's requests for comment.

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