Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2019)


The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional indoor football team based in Hidalgo, Texas. They began play in 2019 as an expansion member of the International Arena Football League with their home games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena in Hidalgo. The new team, owned by Juan and Erika Arevalo, marketed itself as a continuation of the defunct af2 team of the same name.
Part-way into their inaugural season, the Dorados announced they would no longer have games at State Farm Hidalgo Arena. The team stated they terminated the lease while arena operators stated the team had broken their lease. They reportedly owed the arena $31,000 in expenses, but came to an agreement to cover their debt with the arena taking ownership of all team's property left at the arena. The team continued the season, operated by the league, as a travel-only team and qualified for the championship game against the Mexico City Mexicah with the second place 4–3 record. The game was played in Mexico and the Dorados lost 58–20.
The league and league-owned team appeared to have become defunct before the end of 2019 with all websites dead and no active social media efforts.