For at least five Saturday nights next spring, the Civic Center of Anderson will be known as the "Dragon Den."

The Upstate Dragons will play their home games at the Civic Center starting in March, team officials announced Wednesday. The football team is part of the American Arena League and it is expected to compete against several teams from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The team's head coach, Kent Merideth, said the Dragons are hoping for a long stay in Anderson. He said the team plans to provide a low-cost, family friendly source of entertainment.

"We are not planning to be here one year, we are planning to be here for 20 to 30 years down the road," said Merideth, who played quarterback at North Greenville College. “We want to build something here in Anderson that the community can be proud of.”

The Dragons played their inaugural season this spring without a home field. They finished with a record of one win and five losses.

“None of these players were paid last year because we were just a traveling team,” Merideth said.

Anderson County officials said they are looking forward to providing the team with a home.

“This is a great day for our Civic Center and a great day for Anderson County,” said County Administrator Rusty Burns, who was presented with a jersey from the team.

Arena football will be a new activity at the Civic Center, said Glenn Brill, the county's director of parks, recreation and tourism.

"Over the years we’ve had fancy concerts and all sorts of exciting stuff, but we’ve never had football played in the Civic Center," he said.

Brill said earlier this week the Dragons expect to play at least five and possibly as many as eight games at the Civic Center in 2018. The team will pay $2,500 to the county for each game held at the Civic Center, as well $1 from every ticket that is sold, he said.

Merideth said the team will hold tryouts for its dance team, as well as for prospective players later this year.

Five players from last year's Dragons squad attended the news conference Wednesday at the Civic Center.

Wide receiver Brandon Ford, who played football at Catawba College in North Carolina, said last season was a "wonderful experience." He also predicted that the Dragons will be a formidable team in the future.

“Next year is definitely going to be worth watching," Ford said.

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM