THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK or at least they will. The long awaited name announcement of the new team that will play football inside the Times Union Center in downtown Albany is here and it's The Albany Empire.
It's official we're getting Arena Football back in Albany. The group led by the owners of the Orlando Predators confirmed today that have agreed to a three-year lease with the Times Union Center. Three years speaks to the long term commitment Capital Region Football fans were hoping for. The head-scratcher for some of us was early on in the press conference when asked what the team nickname would be and the answer was they were leaning towards "Firebirds" and were still efforting to acquire the Empire name.
This time last year the Capital Region was enjoying an amazing Albany Empire season that would ultimately end with the Empire winning the Arena League Championship. This year which has been historically bad on multiple levels just got a little worse for Empire fans. The AFL's assets are all up for auction including helmets, footballs, and even intellectual properties. I think we all knew the Empire wouldn't get a chance to defend their title but seeing this bankruptcy auction still hurts deeply.
The Albany Empire and 5 additional teams have shut down due to a lawsuit that has led to the Arena Football League to rethink their strategy moving forward.
Last time the Albany Empire took the field they won the Arena Bowl Championship, the next time they take the field you could be on the team! The Empire's open tryouts are November 2nd. Are you the missing piece that could help the Empire repeat as champions?
Last night's Arena Bowl Championship was a lot of fun and felt like a throwback to the 90's when the Firebirds were kings of the town. Just like in 1999, area fans will never forget where they were and who they were with when the 2019 Albany Empire won Arena Bowl 32. Here are some random thoughts about the game last night with some other observations that have nothing to do with football mixed i
In case you haven't heard, the Albany Empire arena football team will be competing in the Arena Bowl championship game! The game is this Sunday 8/11 at the TU. The block party starts at 3 and kickoff is at 8.