The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.

On January 5, 2010, the team announced the four finalists of the name-the-team contest; Storm, Blizzard, Pulse, and Punishers.

[18] In July 2010, they dropped "Storm" in favor of "Erie Professional Football", which remains the name of the team's corporate entity.

On December 3, 2010, the team announced its new Erie Explosion identity, albeit retaining the same color scheme as the Storm.

The Explosion was also one of six AIFA teams which merged with the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) prior to the 2011 season.

The Explosion finished the season with a 9–4 record, winning the Northeast Division, but were defeated 68–43 by the Albany Panthers in the first round of the playoffs.

Erie was tasked with replacing MVP quarterback DiMichele, who had signed with the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul.

[25] McKenna led the Explosion to an 8–3 regular-season record, losing the top seed in the UIFL North during the last game of the season.

Owner Bill Stafford ultimately decided to join the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL).

With the partial collapse of the CIFL in the 2014 season and the exodus of several of its teams to X-League Indoor Football the following offseason, the Explosion were left without a league to play in.

On August 23, 2015, the Explosion announced that they would rejoin the revived CIFL, which was to be a member of the Indoor Football Alliance.

[38] However, the league disbanded on November 4, leaving it uncertain where the Explosion would play in 2016; the Alliance announced it would continue as a six-team league in and of itself, with the Cape Fear Heroes, Explosion, Buffalo Lightning, Atlanta Sharks and two expansion teams playing in the circuit.

[39] WICU-TV reported that the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine had pulled its sponsorship of the team after a high number of injuries in the 2015 season.

Shawn Liotta went on to become a key figure in the development of Fan Controlled Football, along with his high school coaching.