Arena Football 2 is the minor league of the Arena Football League. AF2 started play in the spring of 2000 with 15 teams and expanded to 28 for the 2001 season.
Based in Des Moines, the Barnstormers play their first season in the AF2 in 2001. The ownership of the former AFL Barnstormers retained the rights to the team name and logo when the AFL franchise was sold and moved to New York and used them for the new AF2 team.