Photo by Nick Henthorn Wheeling Miners head coach and general manager Josh Resignalo speaks to media, players and team staff during a press conference inside WesBanco Arena on Friday morning.

WHEELING — The Wheeling Miners are plenty busy in the present — they are preparing to face the Jersey Bearcats in a AAL2 playoff game on Saturday inside WesBanco Arena, the first playoff game in Miners history, and one that could send them to the league championship game if they are victorious.

But the Miners are also looking towards their future, and on Friday morning, they announced a series of steps to better secure it.

In a press conference Friday inside WesBanco Arena, team majority owner Chris Duffy and general manager Josh Resignalo announced that the Wheeling Miners had signed a two-year lease extension at WesBanco Arena, and that the Miners would be moving to the National Arena League for the upcoming 2025 season.

Resignalo, who goes by ‘Coach Res,’ to players and fans alike, said that there were some concerns about the Miners’ long-term future when they took their maiden voyage this year, but with two more years at WesBanco, some of those concerns are settled.

“Overall for us, where we’re at and why we’re here today concerns some of the things that were brought up to us when we first started, and we’re still kind of dealing with it a little bit- is the team going to stay here? Is the team going to be around more than one year?” Resignalo said. “That’s really the question for any franchise in any city across the country, that’s where all indoor football teams are.

“There are teams out there that do a great job on the business side, and they’ve been around for 15, 20, 25 years. That’s where I want to be, that’s what I want this organization to be like, that’s where I want to be for the Ohio Valley.”

Resignalo affirmed his team’s commitment to making the Miners a staple in the community, and called the lease extension the ‘first step’ in showing they’re here to stay.

“This shows for us that we are wanting to be here longer,” the former Marine Corp combat veteran said. “We don’t want to be here for just one year.

“I want this to be where I end my career, and we make it as big as we can and we last as long as possible. This isn’t a stepping stone for me. I’ve been there, done that, done what I wanted to do with the game, traveled around. This is where I want to be.”

The Miners have dominated the competition in their current league, AAL2, going undefeated through the regular season and topping 50 points five times this season, and Resignalo spoke of the move to the NAL as being an upward transition as far as the competition the Miners will see.

“To go undefeated is not easy,” Resignalo said. “It’s my 17th season, and this is my first undefeated season. That’s because of everyone who put in their effort, the players, the coaches, the whole staff, everybody. Everyone’s a part of those victories.”

“The next big question is- you guys are beating everybody so bad, is there going to be another league opportunity? Are you going to play in a league where there’s better competition? That was important to us, if you listen to anything that I’ve said from the beginning, we’re building for the future. We have a great base and foundation for where we’re going.”

For Resignalo, who has both played and coached arena football as well as coaching high school football the last 16 years, the move was something that the organization had in the cards for a while.

“It was always the plan from the get-go of putting a team here, to be at the best level possible,” Resignalo said. “To be in the best league that fits us as an organization because it is about the business.”

Aside from Resignalo and Duffy, those who spoke also included team play-by-play announcer Chris Thoburn, and NAL Director of Expansion- and the owner of the NAL’s Omaha Beef- Ricky Bertz.

Bertz presented Duffy with a NAL football after the move was announced, one of multiple expansions that the NAL anticipates making this summer.

“As a representative of the National Arena League, this is the first of several franchises that we’ll be announcing for the 2025 season,” Bertz said. “I’ll say congratulations to the players and the coaches that are here representing the community for the tremendous job you’ve done. I’ve admired this organization off the field and on the field.”

“We’re excited for Wheeling to join the league for the 2025 season.”

Finding a new home to compete in, while securing their old home at WesBanco to play in, the Miners have made a quick ascent only one year into their history.

They hope the best is yet to come.

“For me personally, I felt like it was going to take a long while for this moment to get here,” Resignalo said. “But I’m excited with everything we’ve done so far.

“We kind of built what we’re doing now to prepare for where we’re going. Will we have a few changes here and there, sure. But we’ll be ready to roll.”