Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power is an Arena Football League team based in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania that began play in March of 2011 . The team plays its home games at the new Consol Energy Center , which they share with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . The team is part of the league ' s American Conference East Division . Pittsburgh was the fourth city added for the 2011 AFL season , joining the San Jose SaberCats , Kansas City Command and their new in - state rivals the Philadelphia Soul - who were all returning to the Arena Football League after a two year absence . Pittsburgh ' s prior AFL history . Prior to the announcement of Pittsburgh ' s 2011 expansion team , the city was the home to the Pittsburgh Gladiators , one of the four original franchises of the first Arena Football League in 1987 . The AFL ' s very first league game , ( not counting the playtest games at the Rockford MetroCenter and the Rosemont Horizon ) , was played in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena between the Gladiators and Washington Commandos . The Gladiators would go on to lose ArenaBowl I to the Denver Dynamite , 45 – 16 , that season in a game played at the Civic Arena . Two years later , the team lost ArenaBowl III , held at Joe Louis Arena to the Detroit Drive , by a score of 39 – 26 . The following season was the Gladiators ' fourth and last in Pittsburgh after co - owner Bob Greis decided to move the franchise to Tampa , Florida . The team was renamed the Tampa Bay Storm . Greis , who had several business interests in Florida , sold the franchise a few years later . During the Storms ' first year in Tampa , the team defeated the Detroit Drive , 48 – 42 , to win ArenaBowl V . The Storm remained in Tampa and reached the playoffs in each of their next 15 seasons , winning four more AFL titles . In 2011 , Jerry Kurz , the commissioner of the Arena Football League , stated to the " Pittsburgh Tribune - Review " that the Gladiators move to Tampa had nothing to do with the attendance for the games . He instead stated that the issues that prompted the team to relocate , had more to do with the lack of additional accoutrements at the Civic Arena , such as updated luxury suites . 2011 expansion . The current AFL policy is to give expansion teams in markets previously served by AFL teams the same name as their predecessor , since the league owns almost all rights to all team names in the league ' s history . However , because the unrelated Cleveland Gladiators already use the " Gladiators " name , that required the adoption of a new franchise name . Incidentally , the Power ' s logo is a thunderbolt , the same as a previous Cleveland AFL team , Cleveland Thunderbolts . The team was originally rumored to be called The Pittsburgh River Wizards , according to sports blog Inside Pittsburgh Sports and by Pittsburgh - area radio host Mark Madden . The team name was changed to the Power before the official announcement by the team . Franchise ownership . On August 20 , 2010 , Matt Shaner was revealed as the principal owner and general manager of the team . His father Lance , as well as former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann , an NFL Hall - of - Famer and Republican 2006 gubernatorial nominee , will also be a part of the team ' s ownership group . Shaner ' s family owns the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel . Like Swann , Matt Shaner was once a political candidate . In 2008 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . After the Colorado Crush , Kansas City Command , and Philadelphia Soul , the Power are the fourth team in Arena Football League history to have a former NFL player as part of its ownership group .