Billings Outlaws ‘go dormant,’ search for new home

Darrell Ehrlick

(Daily Montanan) A message by the Billings Outlaws of the Arena Football One league says the team, which won the last ArenaBowl, will go dormant for the 2026 season, placing much of the blame on the fans and the civic leaders of Montana’s “Magic City.”

Montana has no other professional indoor football teams.

The Billings Outlaws had won the ArenaBowl XXXIII championship, defeating the Albany Firebirds 46-41 on July 19, 2024, in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.

The announcement said that the team will “go dormant” for a year to find its future home. An article published by KULR TV in Billings also listed a realtor as taking ownership offers.

However, the team laid the problems at the feet of fans and local politicians in a statement:

“Due to an increase in costs, the lack of any municipal or state government support, and the simple fact that even with $10 tickets in Billings, we couldn’t fill TDS Fiber Field for nationally televised games, it is apparent that the Outlaws being in Billings isn’t longer feasible for the team.”

The Outlaws compete in Arena Football One and played at the MetraPark complex in Billings. They were founded in 2022 and became the third indoor football team to call Montana’s largest city home. Another team, the Billings Outlaws, played from 2000 through 2010 there, while the Billings Wolves competed in 2015-2016.

The Billings Gazette reported in May that the ownership group, which was led by Wyoming attorney Steven Titus, was considering moving the team, which was accompanied by a decision to drop the name “Billings” from the team title.

The Billings Outlaws franchise finishes with a total of 24 wins and 10 losses. Eight teams remain in the Arena Football One, with Titus serving as its chairman. The two nearest teams are the Washington Wolfpack, located in Everett, Washington, or the Oregon Lightning, located in Redmond, Oregon.