The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper documentation to remain in the AFL and the entire roster was reassigned to other teams in the league. History The original Utah Blaze (2006–08) In September 2004, Commissioner C. David Baker announced that Salt Lake City, Utah was awarded an Arena Football League (AFL) franchise for the 2006 season. The Utah Blaze began play on January 28, 2006, on the road against the San Jose SaberCats. The team was coached by longtime Arizona Rattlers coach Danny White and played its home games at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, home of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz. The team was owned by automobile businessmen John Garff, Robert Garff, and Brett Hopkins. In their first season, the Blaze had the highest average attendance in the Arena Football League, with 15,498 fans per game. They narrowly edged out Philadelphia's 15,463. Prior to the 2006 season, the Blaze had said EnergySolutions Arena held 13,000 fans due to poor sight lines in most of the building. After 16,705 people attended the home opener, that figure was changed to near 15,000. The Blaze topped that figure 5 of the 8 games their first season. The offense was led by quarterback Joe Germaine and star wide receiver Siaha Burley. On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Blaze lost to the New York Dragons 84–81 in the second highest scoring game in the history of the Arena Football League. The Blaze's performance was also the second highest score for a losing team in the AFL's 20-year history. Despite a losing record of 7–9, the Blaze got into the playoffs as an AC Wildcard (the conference's No. 6 seed). Unfortunately, the newly formed Blaze were given the boot as they lost to the Arizona Rattlers with a final score of 57–34. The team's mascot was a dalmatian named "Chief". The Blaze were winners of the league"Commissioners Award" in 2006 and won the "Support Staff of the Year Award" in back-to-back seasons (2006–2007), an award that goes to the league's best training and equipment staff, which was headed by Hagen Featherstone and Kevin Seamans in the inaugural season and Kevin Seamans and Darin Featherstone in 2007. During