Pensacola Barracudas
Arena Football League 2
Pensacola Bay Center
Pensacola, FL
Opened: 1985
Years Active: 2000-2002
The Pensacola Bay Center celebrates 40 years in 2025 as the Panhandle’s premier indoor entertainment venue. Since opening 1985 the Bay Center has seen countless events of all kinds. It is also no surprise that the Bay Center has attracted it’s fair share of sporting events and teams; from boxing and wrestling to basketball, hockey and football the Bay Center has seen it all. Today we’re spotlighting one its former tenants that played here over two decades ago: The short-lived Pensacola Barracudas of the Arena Football League 2.
In 1999 the Arena Football League began a minor league level league called the Af2 that would begin play during the 2000 season. The AFLs fast paced, up-tempo action as well as high scoring was extremely popular during the late 90’s. The AFL had established its niche as the country’s spring football league, and a cheaper alternative to the NFL.
The Barracudas were the brainchild of Georgia real estate broker David Berkham, who also owner the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the (ECHL), who played in the Pensacola Bay Center. In the spring of 1999 Berkman and his partners made a bid to enter three indoor football franchises into a Southeastern U.S. start-up called the Xtreme Football League. Berkman’s group reserved the Birmingham, Jacksonville and Pensacola markets. All three cities were markets that hosted ECHL teams.
When af2 purchased the Xtreme Football League later that summer. Berkham paid the $150,000 expansion fee to place a team in Birmingham, Jacksonville and Pensacola.
In the team’s first season the Barracudas would win their first 5 games but then lose 7 of 9 games. The final record was 8-8-0 for the season. The team would make the playoffs seeded eighth out of eight teams. In the first round, the Barracudas traveled to Moline, IL where they lost to the number one seed and eventual undefeated champion Quad City Steamrollers 55-19. The Barracudas were a hot ticket during that first season averaging 7,294 fans per game averaging fourth in the entire league.
Former Auburn cornerback Kevin Porter served as the head coach during that first year. Porter most notably had a stint in the early 90’s with the Jets and Chiefs. On offense the Barracudas were led by former Pensacola Catholic Quarterback Bobby Clayton, who was a rookie quarterback from West Alabama. Clayton would later become a coaching legend in the Panhandle, with head coaching stops at Fort Walton Beach, Gulf Breeze and in 2025 he’ll take over the Head Coaching duties at Pensacola Catholic High School
In 2001 the league would expand to 28 teams. The Barracudas would experience a lot of different changes headed into their second season. An entire new coaching staff took over, as well as all new players. The Barracudas wouldn’t match the same success from their first season finishing 5-11 and missing out on the playoffs. Attendance nosedived during that second season averaging just 3,700 fans per game.
Despite a slight improvement in their third season, finishing the season with an 8-8 record and barely missing the playoffs. Attendance was abysmal with team averaging 2,700 fans per game, third worst in the league. On July 27, 2002 the Barracudas played their final game ever with a win over the Florida Bobcats, in front of 2,937 fans in the Bay Center. The lease with the Bay Center was terminated after three season and the Barracudas would fold after the season and pro football has not been played in Pensacola since. The three year total for the Barracudas are 21-28, with one playoff appearance (a loss), and .429 win percentage.
Perhaps the best player during that 2002 season was a rookie Wide Receiver Will Pettis. He would later become one of the greatest Arena Football players of all time with Dallas Desperadoes and was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
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