The Athletes Unlimited Softball League has announced the locations of five franchises that will start playing in their assigned locations this season.
The teams announced Tuesday are the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and Utah Talons. The Oklahoma City Spark had been previously announced as a new addition to the league. The season will start June 9.
“These host cities represent the next major chapter of the AUSL’s growth,” Kim Ng, AUSL commissioner, said. “We are building on the momentum of an historic inaugural season by establishing franchises in markets with strong softball traditions, proven fan engagement, and the infrastructure to support a world-class professional experience.”
The Blaze, Bandits, Volts and Talons played last season as part of the league’s touring format. The Cascade and Spark are new to the league.
On opening night, Utah will host Chicago, Carolina will host Portland and Oklahoma City will host Texas.
The Bandits will play home games at The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Chicago. The Chicago Bandits name goes back to 2005.
“It was something of a no-brainer,” Ng said. “The Bandits were going to end up in Chicago. Such an incredible historic significance to the softball world.”
The Cascade will play home contests at Hillsboro Ballpark in Hillsboro, Oregon. Ng said women’s sports are a significant part of the Portland area’s culture. The city previously hosted the Little League Softball World Series for more than 20 years.
“Portland has been in the midst of this great women’s sports movement that has swept the country and has been making a real push to be the center of women’s sports,” Ng said.
The Talons will play at Dumke Family Stadium at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ng said the league had success visiting there last season.
“It was just a great experience,” she said. “Facilities are great, major metro area. So it made a lot of sense for us.”
The Blaze will play at Duke University Softball Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Little League Softball World Series is currently played in North Carolina. Ng said Duke coach Marissa Young has built a strong program that has spurred interest in the sport there.
The Volts will play at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. The Austin suburb drew the largest crowds when the league toured last year. Ng said the infrastructure from youth softball on up made putting a team in that area an easy decision.
The Spark will play home contests at Tom Heath Field at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City hosts the annual Women’s College World Series and is the home of USA Softball and the Softball Hall of Fame.
Ng said she sees more expansion in the future, and sites that have been visited in the past remain under consideration.
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