DestinationFAY

FAYETTEVILLE MARKSMEN The Fayetteville Marksmen, Fayetteville's longest-running professional team, has been playing in one form or another since 2002 and now compete in the independent Southern Professional Hockey League. The Marksmen play a 56-game regular-season schedule from October to April with home games at the Crown Coliseum. The 2021-22 season marked the first back on the ice for the Marksmen since late in the 2019-20 season, when the COVID-19 outbreak forced the league to shut down with a month left in the regular season. Because of state restrictions, the Marksmen were one of five league teams to sit out the 2020-21 season. Led by coach Cory Melkert, the Marksmen were battling for one of the SPHL's four playoff berths in early February with three months remaining in the regular season. Fans interested in tickets to the Marksmen's games can order at the team website, marksmenhockey.com/tickets/season- tickets/, or purchase them on game day at the Crown Coliseum box office. CAROLINA PREDATORS Arena football was originally scheduled to return to Fayetteville in 2022 in the form of the Carolina Predators. The franchise, which has competed in the American Indoor Football Alliance for three seasons as a travel team with no home base, had planned to make the Crown Coliseum its permanent home. It would have marked the return of arena football to Fayetteville for the first time since 2019 when the Cape Fear Heroes folded after seven seasons. The AIFA regular season was scheduled to begin March 26, but just 12 days before that date Crown officials announced the Predators were postponing their 2022 season "due to unforeseen circumstances in relation to the pandemic.'' The Predators are planning to bring arena football back to the Crown in 2023. To keep up with the franchise's progress, visit its website at predatorsarenafootball.com. FAYETTEVILLE FURY One of the latest sports to enter Fayetteville's professional market is indoor soccer. The National Indoor Soccer League announced in August 2021 that one of its four franchises would play at the Crown Coliseum. The league uses a format in which each market has both men's and women's teams that play back-to-back on game day. The Fayetteville Fury — the name is the same for the men's and women's squads — began their inaugural season in late December and were scheduled to continue regular-season play until April 3. Both teams are directed by the head coaches at Methodist University. Justin Terranova, who has coached the Methodist men for 20 years, is the Fury's men's coach, while Bryan Madej leads the women. Madej has been the head women's coach at Methodist since 2010. To see the team schedule or to purchase tickets (which gets you into both games), visit the team's website at fayettevillefury.com/ tickets. FAYETTEVILLE STINGERS A sixth professional sports franchise in Fayetteville is scheduled to debut in March 2023. The Fayetteville Stingers are the newest members of The Basketball League, a professional minor league established in 2018. The league features former college players from NCAA Division I, II and III trying to get their pro careers started along with former pros from the U.S. and abroad. The Stingers are part of TBL's 16-team Eastern Conference and will play a 24- game regular-season schedule. Twelve of those games will be played at a home venue yet to be determined. To keep up with the release of Fayetteville's schedule, check the Stringers' Facebook page at facebook.com/ Fayettevillestingers or the TBL website at thebasketballleague.net/. FAYETTEVILLE CHUTES For those who prefer the purity of amateur sports, the Fayetteville Chutes feature college baseball players competing in the wooden-bat Old North State League in June and July at J.P. Riddle Stadium. The Old North State League is made up of 13 teams in cities across North Carolina that play a 30-game regular-season schedule. Each team has a collection of college players from around the country, some of whom are experiencing the use of wooden bats for the first time. The Chutes enjoyed a strong 2021 campaign, finishing the regular season with an 18-11 record before advancing to the league championship game. They suffered a 9-3 setback against the Appalachian Moonshiners in the title contest. The Chutes' 2022 schedule hadn't been released as of deadline, but general- admission tickets are $6. Children under 10 are admitted free to games. You can check the Chutes' website for game times and dates at oldnorthstateleague.com/members/ Fayetteville_Chutes/Fayetteville_Chutes when the schedule is released. FAYETTEVILLE MOTOR SPEEDWAY You can experience the roar of engines almost every weekend at the historic Fayetteville Motor Speedway just off Interstate 95 at 3407 Doc Bennett Road. Built in 1968, the track has seen the likes of NASCAR greats such as Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Bobby Allison compete there in years past. These days, the 3/8-mile dirt oval features races in a variety of classes each weekend and is a regular stop for the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series. For a schedule and ticket prices, check the speedway's website at fayettevillemotorspeedway.com/. Faye eville Motor Speedway FILE PHOTO 30 DestinationFAY 2022-2023

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