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And while it doesn鈥檛 have a team name just yet, something even more important 鈥� a league 鈥� is taken care of.

Tucson's expansion franchise will play as part of the Indoor Football League, owners Kevin and Cathy Guy announced at a news conference Thursday at Tucson Arena. The news comes as a bit of a surprise given Guy鈥檚 profession: The 45-year-old is the championship-winning head coach of the IFL鈥檚 Arizona Rattlers, headquartered in Phoenix. Guy is expected to stay with the Phoenix franchise, while leading a search for Tucson's new general manager and coach.

Ali Farhang, a Tucson attorney and founder of the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl, will serve as the team's minority owner. The ownership group has hired longtime Tucson sports executive Mike Feder as executive director. Feder ran the Triple-A Tucson Toros and Tucson Padres baseball teams, and worked for indoor football teams in both New Orleans and Austin, Texas.

鈥淭his is Tucson鈥檚 team,鈥� Kevin Guy said. 鈥淲e love the market and want to be a part of the growth of the downtown district. We feel Tucson is the perfect fit in the Indoor Football league. It fits our strategic plan of developing a Western Conference. It is a high-scoring, fast-paced game where fans can reach out and interact with the players.鈥�

Tucson will be the seventh franchise in the IFL, with an eighth team likely to be added. Tucson鈥檚 expansion team joins franchises in Phoenix; Des Moines, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Grand Island, Nebraska; Green Bay, Wisconsin and Sioux Falls, Iowa.

Ownership considered joining Champions Indoor Football, which includes teams in Texas and Nebraska. It鈥檚 unclear if it discussed playing in the Arena Football League despite its reputation as the first-ever major indoor football league. The AFL鈥檚 status (and footprint) have shrunk in recent years. Its teams are now headquartered along the eastern seaboard.

The IFL鈥檚 regular-season schedule typically runs from late-February until June. The United Bowl, the IFL鈥檚 championship game, took place July 7.

鈥淥n behalf of the Indoor Football League and its member teams, we are excited to welcome the Tucson community to the IFL family,鈥� commissioner Mike Allshouse said. 鈥淜evin and Cathy guy have assembled an amazing staff and their vision for Tucson Indoor Football is quite impressive. We look forward to working with Mike and having team success.鈥�

Thursday鈥檚 announcement comes four weeks after the Rio Nuevo board unanimously approved spending $400,000 to convert Tucson Arena for indoor football. The $400,000 allocated for arena football will be used for a turf field, goalposts and locker room improvements. The indoor team will join the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League and the UA club hockey team as Tucson Arena鈥檚 main sports tenants.

Fans can place season ticket deposits at . The website is also home to the name-the-team contest, with a winner to be announced soon.