Washington Valor Arena Football Team Shutting Down Local Ops

WASHINGTON, DC — The Arena Football League has announced that it will close business operations in all six of its local markets, including D.C.

The AFL announced in a statement released Tuesday evening that while the league has not made the final determination that it will be necessary to suspend all league operations -- a decision they expect in the next few weeks -- they will at least need to shutter local operations for all six teams, including the Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade. Both are owned by Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis.

"These closures have resulted in the elimination of various staff positions, and is a direct consequence of the current financial constraints facing the AFL, which include extensive legacy liabilities and a recent multimillion-dollar litigation filed against the League by an insurance carrier that provided coverage for the AFL between 2009 and 2012," an AFL statement reads. "Those liabilities, which are all related to prior League operations, severely constrain the League’s ability to expand and operate."

The league stated that there were "determined" efforts to maintain AFL's viability.

"Looking forward, the AFL will continue to push ahead with efforts to identify solutions to address the aforementioned financial constraints," the statement adds. "We have not yet made the final determination that it will be necessary to suspend all League operations, but we expect that decision to be made within the next few weeks. Should we not be able to move forward, we will issue information about all applicable refunds at that time. We are exploring every possible avenue to continue bringing AFL football to our fans, including further evolutions to the current business model, and are engaging with prospective investors and supporters who are interested in seeing the League continue to grow."

The other teams are in Albany, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Columbus.