Pittsburgh Stingers

Continental Indoor Soccer League (1994-1995)

Tombstone

Born: 1994 – CISL expansion franchise
Folded: February 1996

First Game: June 12, 1994 (W 10-4 vs. Arizona Sandsharks)
Last Game: September 30, 1995 (W 9-5 vs. Detroit Neon)

CISL Championships: None

Arena

Pittsburgh Civic Arena (17,181)¹

Marketing

Team Colors: Black & Gold²

Ownership

Owners: Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg & Thomas Ruta

Attendance

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Pittsburgh Stingers Logo T from Old School Shirts

Background

The Pittsburgh Stingers were part of a brief attempt by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin to create a year-round team sports & entertainment operation out of Pittsburgh Civic Arena, using the organizational infrastructure of the Penguins. At the same time Baldwin entered the Stingers in the Continental Indoor Soccer League in the summer of 1994, he also launched the Pittsburgh Phantoms of Roller Hockey International. Both the Stingers and the Phantoms filled empty summer dates at the Civic Arena.

During this same time period, Baldwin also produced his first Hollywood film – the big-budget Jean-Claude Van Damme thriller “Sudden Death” – in which the Muscles from Brussels battles terrorists in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena during a Stanley Cup Finals match between the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Stingers marked the return of professional indoor soccer to Pittsburgh after an eight-year hiatus. The city’s previous team, the Pittsburgh Spirit (1978-1986) of the Major Indoor Soccer League, folded in 1986. Coincidentally, the Spirit were also operated by the Pittsburgh Penguins owner of their era, Edward DeBartolo Sr. Stingers Head Coach Paul Child was one of the most popular players on the old Spirit teams of the early/mid-1980’s and the Stingers also revived the old black & yellow color scheme of the Spirit.

Box Office Bust

Nostalgia didn’t sell well with Pittsburgh sports fans though. A modest crowd of 5,917 turned out for the Stingers’ home debut on June 12, 1994, a 10-4 victory over the Arizona Sandsharks. Attendance plunged quickly from there and Pittsburgh finished 13th out of the 14 CISL teams with only 2,929 fans per match over a 14-game home schedule. The Stingers squeaked into the playoffs with a 13-15 record and were quickly eliminated by the Dallas Sidekicks.

The 1995 season was more of the same, with the Stingers finishing with the CISL’s third lowest attendance (3,253 per match) and out of playoff contention with a 10-18 record.

Baldwin officially shuttered the Stingers after two seasons in February 1996. They did last longer than Baldwin’s roller hockey experiment though. The Pens owner closed down his Pittsburgh Phantoms franchise after just a single season of play.