St. Joseph Goats president speaks about new opportunity in town
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- St. Joseph’s new arena football team is establishing its foundation in the city as its season opener approaches.
The Goats unveiled their uniforms a week ago inside their new home at the Civic Arena, and the team’s president is ready to satisfy the passion of football fans in the area.
“The coverage and the feedback that we’ve gotten from the community, it exceeded our expectations,” Ted Sweeney said. “It’s just made life easier as we look to partner with companies.”
The St. Joseph Goats are a young team, with their inaugural season being spent in Kansas City in 2024.
As with many new ventures, there are growing pains. Sweeney said the most challenging part of the move was explaining why they were in Kansas City for a year and why they are in St. Joseph for good.
When The Arena League launched in 2024, the Civic Arena could not accommodate the Goats, but the line of communication remained open.
“Civic Arena called back the next year and offered us a three-year contract,” Sweeney said. “Doing our research prior to moving to Kansas City, we knew that this would be a perfect fit.”
Sweeney plans on letting the product on the field attract a larger fan base. The Goats finished the 2024 season with a 7-1 record, securing the top seed in the playoffs.
“If we're lucky enough to get the person to come to a game, we're confident they'll be hooked,” he said. “These are pro football players that have been to NFL camps, played at Mizzou, and smaller schools around the area.”
Sweeney described the arena football experience as fast-paced with minimal timeouts and no huddles.
“It's a lot of plays in a short amount of time,” he said. “And then with the seating, there's not a bad seat in the house. Everybody is close to the action.”
The Goats open their season on the road against the Ozarks Lunkers on May 31 but return home to face the reigning champions in their home opener.
“June 7th, we come back and take on the defending champions from Duluth, Minnesota, the Duluth Harbor Monsters,” Sweeney said. “So that payback is going to be fun.”
Anyone interested in purchasing tickets, seeing the team’s schedule, or learning more about the St. Joseph Goats can visit their website at stjgoatsfootball.com.
