In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice President, Ron Weinstein, he was closing the doors on the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and that if he ever wanted to "create a professional indoor soccer league that played in the summer months, out from under the shadow of the NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball", he would support the endeavor.

[1] One year later, in late 1990, Ron Weinstein incorporated the Continental Indoor Soccer League with his business partner Jorge Ragde.

[2] Buss later took a leave of absence from the project and was temporarily replaced by Phoenix Suns owner, Jerry Colangelo, who joined as one of the inaugural members of the league.

In 1996, CISL signed a three-year agreement with FOX Sports to televise a game of the week nationally in prime time.

It is the opinion of many executives within the sports world, that indoor Soccer has never again reached the pinnacle of the CISL since operations formally ceased in the winter of 1998.