Former Shreveport-Bossier Sports Team Finds New Life in Lake Charles

From 2001-2010, Shreveport-Bossier was home to Louisiana's Arena Football team - The Battle Wings. The team called the CenturyTel Center home and while they never won a league championship, they did win two Southwest Division Championships in 2008 & 2009.

However, the team history extends well beyond Shreveport-Bossier. There's a lot of bankruptcy, moving around, disbanding of leagues...but basically, before & after their time in Shreveport-Bossier, the Battle Wings were the New Orleans VooDoo. The last official year of the New Orleans VooDoo after they left Bossier to go back down south was 2015.

That is until now. It was announced that the Voodoo are back in the AFL and will now call Lake Charles their home. The newly rebranded Louisiana VooDoo will join the Arena Football league starting in 2024. While a full staff hasn't been announced yet, Louisiana native James Shiver has been named head coach for the revived franchise.

Shiver has a long history in Louisiana football. Shiver is a Eunice native, attended & played ball at the University of Lafayette, served as athletic director and head coach at St Edmund High School in Eunice and was offensive coordinator for the Lake Charles Landsharks when there were a member of the National Indoor Football League from 2001-2004.

I said all that to say this: If you were a fan of the Battle Wings or New Orleans VooDoo when they were around, get excited for the new Lake Charles VooDoo! If they succeed, Louisiana succeeds. And that's never a bad thing! Plus, arena football can be pretty exciting, so if you're ever up for a weekend road trip, adding the VooDoo to your itinerary probably isn't the worst idea.