Redmond is ready for some football.

Geoff Hines, director of the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, can already envision the High Desert Storm playing games in the expo center against other teams in the American West Football Conference, a professional indoor football league.

The Storm, which announced its arrival last week in Central Oregon, is not scheduled to start playing games until the spring, or later, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But whenever the team plays it will be exciting for the region and for the growing indoor football league that started in 2019, Hines said.

“They are looking at becoming a part of our community and growing with us,” Hines said. “Logistically, it makes sense. It gives them a stepping stone into a lot of additional markets. From my perspective, it really makes sense and I think it does from theirs as well.”

The football league was also drawn to Redmond because the expo center is already equipped for indoor football similar to the other venues in the league. The Storm is joining the Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks and Yakima Canines in Washington and the Idaho Horsemen in Nampa, Idaho.

“The bulk of the amenities necessary exist on site or will be brought in by the league,” Hines said.

The league plans to bring in artificial turf and field goal posts. Everything else is in place, such as 4,000 seats, a sound system and an electronic scoreboard. The expo center also has a roof high enough for kick-offs during the football games, Hines said.

“Overall I think we have a tremendous facility that is well maintained and is essentially turn-key and is play-ready as early as necessary,” Hines said.

Past exhibition games

The expo center has hosted other professional sports in the past, such as rodeos, Harlem Globetrotters basketball and Portland Trail Blazers exhibitions games. But it has never hosted football, Hines said.

“It’s a different activity from what we have done historically, even though we have done other events,” he said.

Redmond Mayor George Endicott, who considers himself a football fan, said he was thrilled last week when he heard the news of the indoor league choosing his city as it’s newest location.

Endicott credits Hines and the fairgrounds for bringing the league to the city.

“The fairgrounds is a great asset to not only Redmond, but the whole area,” Endicott said. “This is just one more example of Geoff and his crew just doing a yeoman’s job of going out there and figuring out how to make things better and improve entertainment options in Central Oregon.”

Redmond and the fairgrounds have gained a reputation for hosting major events, including the Cascade Chute Out rodeo last month, Endicott said. But having its own professional football team is a new type of entertainment for the region, he said.

“We have been on the map for rodeos and Western events, but this is the first time I’ve seen that kind of a sporting event,” Endicott said. “We are on the map and this will just add to it.”

Tryouts Nov. 21

The indoor football league had a 12-game schedule in its first season from March to July 2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to the virus, and the league plans to return in 2021.

Before the next season, the Storm plans to build its team at a tryout Nov. 21 at the fairgrounds, according to a press release. The team hopes to find former collegiate athletes who fell short of an opportunity with other professional football leagues such as the NFL, CFL or XFL.

(Neither Tami Cook, general manager of the Storm, nor Chris Reynolds, president of the American West Football Conference, responded to requests for comment.)

In addition to building roster, the team needs to hire staff members and reach out to its new fan base across Central Oregon.

“They need to build their fanbase and support staff and all the things that go along with having a professional team in the market,” Hines said.

Hines can’t wait to have the fairgrounds host the tryout next month. After all the planning to bring the Storm to the region, the tryout makes it a reality, he said.

“The season will be here before we know it and we are excited about that,” Hines said. “Hopefully they come out of the gates as contenders and bring home a title.”