Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League ( AFL ) team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida . They play their home games in the St . Pete Times Forum in Tampa . The team began play in 1987 as the Pittsburgh Gladiators , one of the AFL ' s four charter franchises , and the only one still operating . They relocated to Tampa in 1991 and adopted their current name . They played in Tampa from 1991 – 2008 , after which point the AFL folded , and resumed operations for the 2010 season following the league ' s restructuring . Together with the Orlando Predators they have been in their city for longer than any other AFL team . During their tenure they have won five ArenaBowl championships and won five conference titles . They are coached by Dave Ewart . History . Along with their traditional rivals , the Orlando Predators , they share the Arena Football League record for the longest tenure by a franchise in a single market area . They are also the last of the original four franchises ( the Chicago Bruisers , Denver Dynamite and Washington Commandos were the other three ) to have operated in continuous existence from the formation of the league in 1987 until the present . Pittsburgh Gladiators ( 1987 – 1990 ) . The franchise was originally known as the Pittsburgh Gladiators , and was one of the original four AFL teams formed in 1987 . The team was named by Robert Ninehouser whose entry for the team name was selected in 1987 . They originally played their home games at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . The Gladiators participated in ArenaBowl s I and III , losing both . Tampa Bay Storm ( 1991 – present ) . The team moved from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania to Tampa , Florida in 1991 , with the team taking on the " Storm " nickname . The Cleveland Arena Football League franchise now bears the Gladiators name , however , the two organizations share no link in history nor records . On a semi - related note , the Tampa Bay Bandits were set to break from the United States Football League in 1986 and launch another spring football league , which could have been interpreted to mean the Arena Football League , but whatever plans there were had been scrapped when the Bandits ' owner fell ill and died . The Storm won the ArenaBowl in their first season in Tampa Bay ( V ) and have won four subsequent championships ( VII , IX , X , and XVII ) . Up to the 2006 season , the Storm had qualified for the playoffs in every season but one during their time in Tampa Bay . The team played in the former Thunder Dome in St . Petersburg ( now called Tropicana Field ) from 1991 – 1996 , becoming its first regular team sports tenant . Since 1997 , the team has played its home games in the St . Pete Times Forum ( previously the " Ice Palace " ) which is located in Tampa . The Storm competed in the Southern Division of the National Conference . They were coached by Tim Marcum , who is widely regarded as the greatest coach in Arena Football history . The Storm have a heated rivalry with the Orlando Predators known as the War On I - 4 . Both teams have found success and have faced each other in the ArenaBowl and playoffs numerous times . The team ' s current mascot is a dog named Storm Dawg . On December 23 , 2004 , " Sports Illustrated " wrote in its ' The 10 Spot ' feature that the AFL ' s players ' union filed a grievance against the Storm . The reason was that seven of the Storm ' s players claimed that some of the diamond s in their 2003 AFL championship rings were fake . Six of the seven players had left the team after the 2003 season . The Storm acknowledged that some of the rings did , in fact , include cubic zirconia instead of diamonds , and that different players received greater amounts of diamonds in their rings based on their contributions that season . The Storm ended the 2006 season with a 7 – 9 record ( 4th in their Division ) , ending a 19 - year streak of playoff appearances , dating back to their days as the Pittsburgh Gladiators and the start of the Arena Football League . The Storm followed a 9 – 7 season and first - round playoff exit in 2007 with an 8 – 8 finish in 2008 . They salvaged the . 500 record by defeating the Los Angeles Avengers 72 – 47 in Tampa . There was no 2009 Arena Football League season due to the organization ' s ongoing financial difficulties , which eventually resulted in its filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy , leaving it uncertain if the Storm , arguably the most successful team in the history of any form of indoor football , would ever play another game . New future . A new arena football league , originally called Arena Football 1 , formed in 2009 . The Storm were not one of the initial 16 teams announced . However , Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings owner Dan Newman mentioned that the Storm were one of at least two former AFL franchises that were being negotiated with , the other being the San Jose SaberCats . The new organization bought the rights to the intellectual property , including the team names , logos , histories , and patented rules of the old AFL in a bankruptcy auction , which allowed to function essentially as a full sucessor ; after this action , the name Arena Football 1 was dropped and the group resumed operating as the Arena Football League . The Storm resumed full operations for the new league ' s 2010 season , with some players from the former roster , and once again coached by Tim Marcum and this time owned by the Forum ' s primary tenant , the NHL ' s Tampa Bay Lightning . The AFL released the schedule for their inaugural season on December 31 , 2009 . The Storm returned during the opening weekend of the season on April 3 , 2010 . On February 17 , 2010 , it was formally announced that the AF1 had adopted the former Arena Football League name . In the 2010 season the Storm went 11 – 5 , finishing second in the South Division . In the playoffs , they earned a trip to ArenaBowl XXIII , but lost to the Spokane Shock 57 – 69 . On February 17 , 2011 , Tim Marcum would resign as head coach of the Storm less than a month before the 2011 season was to begin , after having the position for 15 years . He left as the AFL ' s all - time winningest head coach with 211 wins . Dave Ewart was named as the team ' s new head coach the next day . Radio and television . The Tampa Bay Storm are broadcast on Storm Radio , which has no affiliates ; only a flagship which is AM 620 WDAE . The radio play - by - play announcer is local radio icon Jack Harris , and the radio color commentator is Jason Dixon who is also the director of broadcasting for the Tampa Bay Lightning . Bright House Sports Network , owned by and shown only on Bright House Networks cable systems , broadcasts all the Storm home games . Drew Felios and Mark Royals are the broadcasters .