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In late 2023, three supposed expansion teams were announced as the "California Grizzlies", "Minnesota Myth" and "St. Louis Rampage". The teams were announced on their respective [[Instagram]] and [[Twitter|X]] accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California Grizzlies |url=https://www.instagram.com/californiagrizzliesafl |access-date=2023-07-30 |language=en-CA}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |title=Minnesota Myth |url=https://www.instagram.com/mn_myth |access-date=2023-07-30 |language=en-CA}}</ref> However, league commissioner Hutton released a statement regarding addition of these new team names. He states on his [[Twitter|X]] account: "Any information that concerns the Arena Football League must be endorsed by me or our CEO otherwise it is not reliable. AFL team name announcements will be coming soon for all locations. It is an exciting time as we make our mark to be bigger and better."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hutton |first=Lee |date=2023-07-31 |title=OFFICIAL AFL STATEMENT |url=https://twitter.com/LeeHuttonIII/status/1686151274549379073 |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=Arena Football League |language=en-US}}</ref> The Rampage later admitted to being a hoax supported by fans of the [[St. Louis Battlehawks]].<ref>[https://twitter.com/STLRampageAFL/status/1686159321036365825 Well, uhh... we got em'. Conglatulations AFL, you finally noticed. This is what happens when you just announce locations and not ownership, arenas, team mascots, etc. This is not how you run a football league. Get everything prepared before you do something.]</ref> [[Defector Media]] traced the California Grizzlies to Tim Carbajal, who operates a semi-pro spring football team in the area. Carbajal confirmed the Grizzlies' existence—and confirmed that he, under an alias, had contacted Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield inquiring about using the facility—but otherwise stated he was not at liberty to discuss further details due to Hutton's gag order.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Dave |date=2023-08-01 |title=Arena Football League Relaunch Comes As Surprise To Cities That Will Allegedly Have Teams |url=https://defector.com/arena-football-league-relaunch-comes-as-surprise-to-cities-that-will-allegedly-have-teams |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=[[Defector Media|Defector]] |language=en}}</ref>
On August 29, 2023, the league officially announced that the [[Billings Outlaws (CIF)|Billings Outlaws]], formerly of [[Champions Indoor Football]], would be the inaugural members of the new version of the league.<ref name = "Outlaws to AFL">{{Cite web |url=https://www.outlawsfootball.com/news/outlaws-join-afl-for-2024-season |title=OUTLAWS JOIN AFL FOR 2024 SEASON |website=BillingsOutlaws.com |date=August 29, 2023}}</ref> On August 31, the [[West Texas Desert Hawks]] (formerly the Warbirds) were the second team confirmed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newswest9.com/article/sports/arena-football-league-announces-west-texas-desert-hawks-will-be-newest-league-franchise/513-47c5c148-7fd2-441a-b244-7ee28ec04ecd |title=Arena Football League announces that the West Texas Desert Hawks will be the newest franchise |website=NewsWest9 |date=August 31, 2023}}</ref> The [[Orlando Predators (2019–)|Orlando Predators]] were the third team announced on September 25.
==Teams==
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