St. Joseph welcomes Kansas City Goats; Civic Arena to host Arena League action
By Calvin Silvers
The St. Joseph community has always supported local teams, whether they are high schools, Division II colleges or professional franchises nearby. The city also backs teams like the St. Joseph Mustangs, setting national attendance records in summer baseball leagues.
With this strong track record, it’s an exciting opportunity to build something new in the city. This rang true for The Arena League, an indoor football league that will bring one of its teams to St. Joseph as their new home.
The newly renovated Civic Arena has hosted Division I basketball contests, Division II National Championships and the MIAA Volleyball Tournament. Now, the arena will become the new home of the Kansas City Goats, who will relocate to St. Joseph for the 2025 season and beyond.
“St. Joe is known as a sports area, and I think you all coming up here will be a very good addition to St. Joe,” Mayor John Josendale said. “This is a community that when they buy in, they buy in all the way and it’s a big deal.”
The Kansas City Goats will retain their name until a majority owner in St. Joseph is chosen. Once that process is complete, the team may change its name and logo as it sees fit. As for the city itself, league commissioner and NFL Hall of Famer Tim Brown is confident that St. Joseph will embrace the team with open arms.
“We knew St. Joe was going to be a good fit,” Brown said. “I mean, some of our people, as you can see, were very familiar with St. Joe, and knew that this would be the perfect fit for us.”
The Arena League began its inaugural season in 2024, featuring four teams, including two in Missouri, with additional teams in Iowa and Minnesota. This upcoming season, the league will expand to a total of six teams.
For those unfamiliar with indoor football, the field is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide, enclosed by padded walls. Teams have 15-player rosters, and games are played six-on-six.
“It’s a different beast, man, you know, my guy Jeff likes to say it’s the combination of hockey, WWE and football mixed together,” Brown said. “Watching people fly in the stands and balls going as well and all the things that happen, you know, Arena Football games are really just amazing to me.”
Five games will be played at the Civic Arena, with season tickets now on sale. The front office appreciated the arena even before its renovations, and since those upgrades were completed, the decision to move was a no-brainer.
“It’s perfect for us. We’ll have those sweet boxes up against the wall and then, you know, that level of seating is perfect, and it’ll be loud, exciting,” general manager Ted Sweeney said. “We couldn’t have built a more perfect arena for Arena Football.”
This not only brings in an event for families to enjoy in the summer but also gives local college athletes a chance to play the game of football at another level.
“I paid a visit to Missouri Western first thing when I first first got up here,” Sweeney said. “We’re already looking at tape and looking at seniors.”
The season will begin play in late May and playoffs will go through August.
