KWS Thunder vs Maryland 11 TONY TERRELL ATCHESON CONWAY.jpg

Tony Terrell snags a pass playing for the Muskegon Thunder during the 2009 season at L.C. Walker Arena. A new indoor team is expected to play at L.C. Walker Arena in the spring of 2016.

(MLive.com file)

MUSKEGON, MI - It appears indoor football is coming back to Muskegon.

Terrence Williams, the co-founder of the WV Foundation that has put on the Muskegon All-Star Classic football game for high school seniors the past four years, has acquired a franchise for an expansion team in the American Indoor Football league, according to a Facebook post on the league's website.

The team is expected to play its first season in the spring of 2016 with home games at L.C. Walker Arena.

The new team will include the name West Michigan, but a schedule, nickname, logo, coach and players have yet to be announced.

Williams is a 2003 graduate of Oakridge and went on to play at Adrian College and the inaugural season for the Thunder.

"I am excited to be able to bring indoor football back to West Michigan where football is king," Williams said in a Facebook post released by the AIF. "Our goal is to compete for and win championships right out of the gate. The competition in the AIF is phenomenal, but we plan to be in the hunt right away."

The AIF is eight-man football that is played on a turf field 85 feet wide and 50 yards long.

The Muskegon City Commission OK'd the purchase of a used turf floor at Tuesday's meeting that would be used by the indoor team. The football team would share the arena from March to June with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and other hockey and entertainment events.

The Muskegon-based team would be the second in the state for the AIF, joining the Saginaw Sting, and the 10th team in the league. Other markets in the Midwest include Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo.

"We proudly welcome Terrence to the AIF," league commissioner John Morris said in the Facebook post. "This is a development that will elevate the AIF to new heights. The Great Lakes region is home to more than 19 million people and we look forward to intense rivalries between Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and now two Michigan teams that will captivate this great region."

It was reported the AIF and Williams have been in contact since 2014 about bringing an indoor team back to Muskegon. Muskegon had an indoor team called the Thunder that played in the Continental Indoor Football League from 2007-09. The attendance dwindled and the team moved to Grand Rapids.

Williams and Morris could not be reached Wednesday afternoon seeking further comment.

Mark Opfermann covers sports for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at mopferma@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.