Indoor Football League Delays the Start of the 2021 Season

Sioux Falls Storm fans will have to wait a little longer for the start of the 2021 Indoor Football League season.

Coming off a canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sioux Falls Storm has been excited to get play back underway in 2021. The season schedule was announced a few months ago but, just a little over a month before the scheduled start, the league has determined that it's best to pushback the season.

The Indoor Football League's Board of Directors voted to delay the start of the season to May 14, 2021. The league was originally scheduled to begin play on March 28. The decision was made to give all 12 teams the best opportunity to succeed this season with some cities having local restrictions.

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“In trying to best meet the varying needs of all of our member teams, we determined as a league that delaying the start of the season is in the best interest of the IFL,” said league Commissioner Todd Tryon. “With a national footprint that stretches from the East Coast to the West Cost and from North Dakota all the way down to Texas, this year calls for us to be flexible and to consider the unique restrictions, or lack thereof, of each of our 12 markets.

“We view this as a positive step, as we have been able to put together a schedule that will allow each team the best opportunity for success in its own local market, while also allowing for additional time for our country as a whole to make greater strides in our collective efforts against the COVID pandemic. At the same time, we realize there will continue to be issues related to COVID and we have spent many hours developing plans on how we will deal with in-season situations that may arise.”

The Sioux Falls Storm still has 14 games on its 2021 season schedule. Sioux Falls will open the season at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on May 14 against the Iowa Barnstormers. The Storm will then host Arizona the following week.

Here is the 2021 revised Sioux Falls Storm schedule:

• May 14: vs. Iowa
• May 22: vs. Arizona
• May 29: @ Louisville
• June 5: @ Bismarck
• June 12: vs. Spokane
• June 19: @ Iowa
• June 26: vs. Bismarck
• July 10: @ Spokane
• July 18: @ Green Bay
• July 24: @ Arizona
• July 31: vs. Frisco
• August 7: vs. Louisville
• August 13: @ Bismarck
• August 21: vs. Green Bay

The playoff schedule has not been finalized in full at this point. More information about the entire Indoor Football League and the decision to revise the schedule can be found here.