The Detroit Safari (founded as the Detroit Neon) was a member of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

that played at

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the ...

. Their owners, the Palace Sports Group, were awarded a franchise on November 4, 1993.

Club history

The Detroit Neon got their name from the

Dodge Neon Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Ply ...

automobile, via a sponsorship from the

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

. (The International Hockey League's

Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the International Hockey League (IHL). Originally founded in 1969 as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in Salt Lake City, the team was purchased by Palace Sports & Entertainment ...

were also owned by Palace Sports and named for a Chrysler product.) In 1997, the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

were sold to

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

and they became the Detroit Safari, after the GMC Safari minivan. The club did well at the box office (they led the CISL in attendance in their first season in 1994 and drew well above league average in all four years they played), but not on the turf. Despite having experienced indoor player

Andy Chapman Andrew Chapman (born 18 September 1959) is an English-American retired soccer player who saw his greatest success as an indoor player in the United States. He spent six seasons in the American Soccer League, ten in the Major Indoor Soccer Lea ...

(who also served as Detroit's coach—unofficially, as the league prohibited player-coaches), the club finished next-to-last in the Eastern Division in both 1994 and 1995 and out of the playoffs. The Neon improved to 13-15 in 1996 and snuck into the post-season, only to be beaten two games to one by the

Monterrey La Raza Monterrey La Raza refers to one of two different indoor soccer franchises: *Monterrey La Raza (1992–2001), a defunct indoor soccer team that operated in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and World Indoor Soccer League *Monterrey La Raza (2007 ...

in the first round (the sole playoff contest at the Palace drew 4,477 fans.) Finally, the re-named Safari finished with a 3-25 mark in 1997, tying the 1994

Carolina Vipers The Carolina Vipers were an indoor soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. They played only one season in 1994. Their home arena was Independence Arena. The Vipers were owned by Feli ...

for the worst in league history. The team folded along with the rest of the CISL after the 1997 season. During the team's existence, some games (including all 1997 home contests) were televised on PASS Sports.

Year-by-year

Ownership

* Palace Sports & Entertainment Group

Staff

* Ron Campbell – General Manager (1994–97)

Head coaches

* Chris Keenan (1994) *

David B. Baker David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

(1994) * Paul Child (1995–97) *

Ian Fairbrother Ian Fairbrother (born 2 October 1966) is an English retired footballer. He spent the majority of his career in the United States. He spent his youth career with Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, but began his professional career in 1984 ...

(1997)

References

Association football clubs established in 1993 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Continental Indoor Soccer League teams S Soccer clubs in Michigan Sports in Auburn Hills, Michigan Sports in Oakland County, Michigan 1993 establishments in Michigan 1997 disestablishments in Michigan {{Detroit-sport-stub