Hot Springs to Get Professional Arena League Football Team; Play Will Begin in Summer of 2025 at Bank OZK Arena | Hot Springs National Park Arkansas

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Hot Springs has been selected to be the home of a professional football team as part of The Arena League, which fields teams across the Midwest.

The announcement was made Thursday [April 26] in Hot Springs by The Arena League official Tommy Benizio.

Hot Springs’ team, which will begin league play in the summer of 2025, will compete against Arena League teams from Duluth, Minn., Springfield, Mo., Waterloo, Iowa, and Kansas City. A sixth team will be added soon, Benizio said.

Home games will be played in the city’s Bank OZK Arena, according to Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, which operates the arena.

“We are looking forward to adding Arena League pro competition to the menu of sports-related attractions that Hot Springs offers,” Arrison said. “Hot Springs is already established as a baseball mecca as The Birthplace of Major League Baseball Spring Training, and our place at the top of Thoroughbred racing is secured by Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. The addition of arena football is certain to be another attraction bringing visitors to the city.”

Benizio said Arena League games are played from early June through mid-August, with playoffs later in August. Each team plays eight regular season games and an optional preseason home game.

He said, “The games are fast-paced, high-scoring and in your face — literally, if you are in a field box.”

Benizio said the team would hire a local staff and “involve local business leaders in the ownership” of the as-yet-unnamed Hot Springs team.

Season seats and more information about the Hot Springs team are available at www.arkansasarenafootball.com.

For more information contact media@thearenaleague.football or call 214-412-6889.