1981-82 North American Soccer League season

1980-81

1981-82

1982-83 (not played)

Teams and Alignment

Conference	Division	Team	Primary Venue	Municipality
Atlantic Conference	Central Division	Chicago Sting	Chicago Stadium	Chicago
		Tampa Bay Rowdies	Bayfront Center	St. Petersburg, Florida
		Tulsa Roughnecks	Expo Square Pavilion	Tulsa, Oklahoma
	Eastern Division	Jacksonville Tea Men	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Jacksonville, Florida
		Manic de Montréal	Forum de Montréal	Montréal
		New York Cosmos	Meadowlands Arena	East Rutherford, New Jersey
		Toronto Blizzard	Maple Leaf Gardens	Old Toronto, Toronto
Pacific Conference	Northwest Division	Edmonton Drillers	Northlands Coliseum	Edmonton, Alberta
		Seattle Sounders	The Kingdome	Seattle
		Vancouver Whitecaps	PNE Agrodome	Vancouver, British Columbia
	Western Division	San Diego Sockers	Pechanga Arena San Diego	San Diego
		Portland Timbers	Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Portland, Oregon
		San Jose Earthquakes	Oakland Arena	Oakland, California

Changes

• League realigned into Atlantic Conference, divided into Central Division and Eastern Division, and Pacific Conference, divided into Northwest Division and Western Division.
• Atlanta Chiefs fold.
• Calgary Boomers fold.
• California Surf fold.
• Chicago Sting realigned from Central Division to Atlantic Conference Central Division.
• Dallas Tornado fold.
• Detroit Express fold.
• Edmonton Drillers realigned from Northern Division to Pacific Conference Northwest Division.
• Ft. Lauderdale Strikers suspend indoor operations before Ft. Lauderdale Strikers resume indoor operations, relocate from Hollywood Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, Florida to Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, renamed Minnesota Strikers, and transfer to Major Indoor Soccer League in 1984-85.
• Jacksonville Tea Men realigned from Eastern Division to Atlantic Conference Eastern Division.
• Los Angeles Aztecs fold.
• Manic de Montréal enter indoor competition in Atlantic Conference Eastern Division, playing at Forum de Montréal in Montréal.
• Minnesota Kicks fold.
• New York Cosmos enter indoor competition in Atlantic Conference Eastern Division, playing at Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
• Portland Timbers realigned from Western Division to Pacific Conference Western Division.
• San Diego Sockers realigned from Southern Division to Pacific Conference Western Division.
• San Jose Earthquakes realigned from Western Division to Pacific Conference Western Division.
• Seattle Sounders relocate from Western Division to Pacific Conference Northwest Division.
• Tampa Bay Rowdies realigned from Eastern Division to Atlantic Conference Central Division.
• Toronto Blizzard realigned from Northern Division to Atlantic Conference Eastern Division.
• Tulsa Roughnecks realigned from Southern Division to Atlantic Conference Central Division.
• Vancouver Whitecaps relocate from Pacific Coliseum to PNE Agrodome and realigned from Northern Division to Pacific Conference Northwest Division.

Regular Season Results

Conference	Division	Team	W	L	GB
Atlantic Conference	Central Division	Chicago Sting	12	6
		Tampa Bay Rowdies	11	7	1
		Tulsa Roughnecks	10	8	2
	Eastern Division	Manic de Montréal	9	9
		Toronto Blizzard	8	10	1
		Jacksonville Tea Men	7	11	2
		New York Cosmos	6	12	3
Pacific Conference	Northwest Division	Edmonton Drillers	13	5
		Vancouver Whitecaps	10	8	3
		Seattle Sounders	9	9	4
	Western Division	San Diego Sockers	10	8
		Portland Timbers	7	11	3
		San Jose Earthquakes	5	13	5

Postseason Results

Team (Best-of-Two-Plus-Minigame)		Team (Best-of-Two-Plus-Minigame)		Team (Best-of-Two-Plus-Minigame)		Champions
Edmonton Drillers	2	Edmonton Drillers	0	San Diego Sockers	2	San Diego Sockers
Seattle Sounders	0
San Diego Sockers	2	San Diego Sockers	2
Vancouver Whitecaps	0
Chicago Sting	1	Tulsa Roughnecks	1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	0
Tulsa Roughnecks	2
Manic de Montréal	1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	2
Tampa Bay Rowdies	2

Markets and Venues

Combined Statistical Area	Metropolitan Statistical Area	Metropolitan Division	County / Equivalent	Municipality	Venue	Team / Event	Regular	Postseason	Total
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area	Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL Metropolitan Division	Cook County, Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Stadium	Chicago Sting	Nine	Two	11
Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area				Edmonton, Alberta	Northlands Coliseum	Edmonton Drillers	Nine	One	10
Jacksonville-Kingsland-Palatka, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area	Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area		Duval County, Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Jacksonville Tea Men	Nine		Nine
Montréal Census Metropolitan Area				Montréal	Forum de Montréal	Manic de Montréal	Nine	Two	11
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area	New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	Bergen County, New Jersey	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Meadowlands Arena	New York Cosmos	Nine		Nine
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined Statistical Area	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area		Multnomah County, Oregon	Portland, Oregon	Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Portland Timbers	Nine		Nine
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area			San Diego County, California	San Diego	Pechanga Arena San Diego	San Diego Sockers	Nine	Four	13
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division	Alameda County, Calfiornia	Oakland, California	Oakland Arena	San Jose Earthquakes	Nine		Nine
Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division	King County, Washington	Seattle	The Kingdome	Seattle Sounders	Nine	One	10
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area		St. Petersburg-Clearwater-Largo, FL Metropolitan Division	Pinellas County, Florida	St. Petersburg, Florida	Bayfront Center	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Nine	Four	13
Toronto Census Metropolitan Area				Old Toronto, Toronto	Maple Leaf Gardens	Toronto Blizzard	Nine		Nine
Tulsa-Bartlesville-Muskogee, OK Combined Statistical Area	Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area		Tulsa County, Oklahoma	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Expo Square Pavilion	Tulsa Roughnecks	Nine	Two	11
Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area				Vancouver, British Columbia	Pacific Coliseum	Vancouver Whitecaps		One	One
					PNE Agrodome	Vancouver Whitecaps	Nine		Nine
Total							117	17	134