Pirates Announce Updated 2021 Season Schedule
February 18, 2021 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release
Tucson Arena, home of the Tucson Sugar Skulls
(Tucson Sugar Skulls)
WORCESTER, MA. - After initially releasing the 2021 season schedule in November, the IFL has announced a new schedule for this season. The official schedule has the Pirates playing sixteen games in an 18-week schedule, beginning on April 24th and ending on August 21st. Eight of the Pirates' sixteen games will be played at the team's home arena, the DCU Center.
The Pirates have played home games at the DCU Center since their first season in 2018. They recently signed an extension to continue playing at the arena through the 2023 season.
The Pirates will begin the season with six road games in their first nine contests and will finish with five home games in the final seven weeks. The Pirates also have two bye weeks, which come in Weeks 4 and 6.
The Massachusetts Pirates will open their first season in the IFL on the road against the Louisville Xtreme. The game will take place at the Xtreme's home arena, Freedom Hall, on Saturday, April 24th at 7:05 PM/ET in Louisville, Kentucky. This meeting will be the first of four regular season matchups between the two clubs. The Pirates will face the Xtreme more times than any other IFL opponent this year. Louisville is also Massachusetts' closest geographical matchup in their new league.
The Pirates' second regular season contest will be against the Green Bay Blizzard. The game will be held at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Sunday, May 2nd at 4:05 PM/ET. The Pirates will play Green Bay again, but not until August. This marks the longest gap between an opponent this season.
Massachusetts will then meet the Bismarck Bucks in Week 3 to wrap up their road trip to start the season. The game will take place on Saturday, May 8th at 7:05 PM/ET at the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Bucks, like the Blizzard, will travel to Massachusetts for a late-season matchup.
Following three games on the road, the Pirates will return home for a Week 4 bye week.
The 2021 Massachusetts Pirates home opener will occur in Week 5 against the Spokane Shock at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The date and time of the game is to be determined due to television scheduling matters. The Pirates and Shock will meet again later in the season.
Week 6 brings the Pirates' second and final bye week of the season. Following their second bye week, Massachusetts will play games in twelve consecutive weeks to finish out the regular season.
The Pirates' fifth game of the season will be held on Saturday, June 5th at 7:05 PM/ET. The game will be the team's second matchup against the Louisville Xtreme and will be played at the DCU Center.
Massachusetts' next game comes in Week 8 against the Frisco Fighters. The game is scheduled for Saturday, June 12th at 7:05 PM/ET at the DCU Center. The Pirates will face the Fighters again in Week 11.
After three consecutive games and five weeks at home, the Pirates will hit the road for another three-game road trip, beginning in Arizona against the Tucson Sugar Skulls. The game will take place on Saturday, June 19th at 8:05 PM/ET. This matchup against the Sugar Skulls will be the only time the two teams face-off in the regular season.
The Sugar Skulls play home games at Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona.
Following their trip to the Grand Canyon State, the Pirates will head to Louisville for their third matchup against the Xtreme. The game will take place at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday, June 27th at 4:05 PM/ET. The two teams will meet again in Week 14 for their fourth and final regular season matchup.
Massachusetts' ninth game of the 2021 season will take place at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas against the Frisco Fighters. The contest will be held on Friday, July 2nd at 8:05 PM/ET. The Pirates will have just five days between this matchup and their previous matchup, marking the shortest turnaround on the season.
The Pirates return home in Week 12 for another three-game homestand in a matchup against the Bismarck Bucks. The game is scheduled for Saturday, July 10th at the DCU Center and kickoff is set for 7:05 PM/ET.
The Pirates will then welcome the Arizona Rattlers to Worcester on Sunday, July 18th. This will be the sole matchup between the two teams in the regular season. The game will begin at 1:05 PM/ET at the DCU Center, which marks the Pirates' earliest kickoff this year. This game is also the only Pirates home game scheduled on a Sunday in 2021.
The Louisville Xtreme will make their second and final trip to the DCU Center for the Pirates' twelfth game of the season. The game is set to begin at 7:05 PM/ET on Saturday, July 24th.
The Pirates will hit the road again in Week 15 for a contest against the Spokane Shock. The game is scheduled for 10:05 PM/ET on Saturday, July 31st at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington. This game marks the latest start time on the 2021 schedule.
The Pirates will welcome the Green Bay Blizzard to the DCU Center on Saturday, August 7th for their second-to-last home game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 PM/ET.
Massachusetts' final away game comes in Week 17 and marks the organization's longest road trip of their inaugural IFL season. The Pirates' will play the Northern Arizona Wranglers in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The game will be held at the Findlay Toyota Center on Sunday, August 15th at 5:05 PM/ET. It will be the first and only time the Pirates play the Wranglers this season.
The Massachusetts Pirates' regular season finale will be played at the DCU Center against the Iowa Barnstormers on Saturday, August 21st at 7:05 PM/ET. The Barnstormers, like the Sugar Skulls, Rattlers and Wranglers, will only play the Pirates once this season. The Pirates will not play the Sioux Falls Storm or the Duke City Gladiators in the regular season.
Pirates founder, co-owner and president Jawad Yatim spoke with masspiratesfootball.com about the IFL's decision to push back the start date of the season. He feels the league made the right decision.
"As a league we felt it was best to stay ahead of the situation and allow all the various playing venues additional time to situate themselves. With the large geographic footprint in the IFL, there's a lot of contrast among each organization when it comes to Covid-19. The additional time will help all the organizations come to a more balanced ground in terms of operating throughout the season. Nevertheless April 24th can't come soon enough."
Stay tuned for more details of the 2021 Pirates season schedule, including the date and time of the organization's home opener in Week 5.
The Massachusetts Pirates are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Pirates play all home games at the DCU Center located at 50 Foster St. Worcester, MA. 01608. For more information on the Massachusetts Pirates please call (508) 452-MASS (6277), email contact@masspiratesfootball.com or visit http://www.masspiratesfootball.com. Single-game tickets will be available soon at ticketmaster.com or the DCU Center Box Office. For season, half-season, luxury, or group ticket packages please call 508-452-MASS (6277). Follow the Pirates on Facebook via Facebook.com/MAPirates, Instagram @mass.pirates, and Twitter @mass_pirates. #GetHooked #AllAboard
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 DCU Center, home of the Massachusetts Pirates |
 Tucson Arena, home of the Tucson Sugar Skulls |
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