Stockton Crusaders announced as first expansion team for Arena Football One

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arena Football One announced Stockton, California will be home to its first expansion team for the inaugural 2025 season.

The Stockton Crusaders became the ninth team to join the new league and will play home games at the Adventist Health Arena.

The team shared that Greg Pearce will serve as general manager and Kurt Bryan as head coach.

“We are both proud and excited to receive this approval to join Af1,” Scott McKibben, Crusaders team president, said in a release. “[AF1] has a strong and well-known brand that resonates with the fan base and sponsors. We are impressed with their vision for both media rights and league-wide sponsorships going forward.”

The announcement comes as the league plans to roll out more expansion teams as soon as this week. Billings Outlaws owner Steven Titus told 406mtsports last week that they are in talks of having a team in Mexico and Canada.

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Anthony Carter

Anthony Carter is the founder and publisher of X1 Media and Arena Insider. Carter grew up in Philadelphia, PA and graduated from Elizabethtown College. He’s a former news anchor, reporter and producer. Carter is also a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Want to connect with Anthony? Send him an email: acarter@thexonemedia.com

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