<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> AFL seasons </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ← 2016 2018 → </Td> </Tr> <P> The 2017 Arena Football League season is the 30th season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to five teams . The 14 - game regular season began on April 7, 2017, when the two new teams, the Baltimore Brigade and the Washington Valor, faced off in the Verizon Center, and ended on August 5, 2017, when the Tampa Bay Storm lost against the Philadelphia Soul . </P> <P> ArenaBowl XXX was held on August 26, 2017, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, as the Soul repeated as champs by beating the Storm by a score of 44--40 . </P>

When does the arena football season start 2017