Albany Firebirds | |
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Current season | |
Established 2023 Play in Albany, New York at the MVP Arena https://www.firebirdsarenafootball.com | |
League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (2024-present) | |
Current uniform | |
Team colors | Black, orange, white (Primary) Red & blue (Supporting) |
Mascot | Spike |
Cheerleaders | Firebirds Flames |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) |
|
President | Jeff Levack |
General manager | Damon Ware |
Head coach | Damon Ware |
Team history | |
| |
Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) | |
Division championships (0) |
The Albany Firebirds are a professional arena football team as an inaugural team in the third iteration of the Arena Football League. The team is based in Albany, New York. Home games are played at the MVP Arena. This is the third time the Firebirds name has been used, first from 1990 to 2004 with the original Albany and Indiana Firebirds from the Arena Football League, and the Albany Firebirds of the af2 in 2009.
Before the current Albany Firebirds franchise, the original Albany Firebirds franchise was started in 1990. It was the most successful Albany arena football franchise in history, going 88–60 [1] and made every playoffs in the AFL, except in 1990 and 1997. The team was most successful in 1999, going 13–3 and beating the Grand Rapids Rampage, Arizona Rattlers, and then beating the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XIII in their home turf, the MVP Arena. After the 2000 season, the Firebirds moved to Indianapolis becoming the Indiana Firebirds. The Firebirds were mainly unsuccessful in their new location, and folded in 2004.[ citation needed ]
During this time, the Albany Conquest began by the former owners of the Albany Firebirds, and were successful early on, however started to lose towards the end of the af2. The team rebranded to the Firebirds in 2009, lasting one season and a short playoff stint. The second incarnation of the Firebirds did not survive the transition to a unified Arena Football League in 2010. [2]
After almost a decade, the Arena Football League in 2017 announced a new Albany arena football team named the Albany Empire. The Empire were very successful during their two years, winning the league's regular season title in back to back years and eventually won ArenaBowl 32 in 2019; however, the team folded with the league's Chapter 7 bankruptcy the same year. [3]
In 2020, the National Arena League announced a new Empire franchise in November 2020. [4] The new Empire won 2 straight NAL Championships in 2021 and 2022.[ citation needed ]
In 2023, former National Football League (NFL) wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Antonio Brown bought shares to the Empire, and joining with him was father, Albany Firebirds' legend "Touchdown" Eddie Brown. [5] The Empire were expelled from the NAL two months into the 2023 season due to Antonio Brown's wildly erratic behavior. [6]
After the Antonio Brown fiasco, Bob Belber, general manager of the arena, stated that New York's exceptionally high worker's compensation premium, running around $1,500,000, a full order of magnitude higher than other indoor squads, was the main factor in the NAL Empire's sale to Brown and its collapse, and the primary reason the Empire was not included among the inaugural teams in the 2024 Arena Football League relaunch; he stated that if the city wanted arena football to return, the state would have to lower that premium before the middle of August 2023. [7] Belber was nonetheless "optimistic" that a resolution could be achieved and noted he had been in discussions with two reputable groups to potentially bring arena football back to the arena. On September 23, according to an unconfirmed report from WNYT, the team would revive the brand of the Albany Firebirds and play in the Indoor Football League; [8] however, former Empire owner Mike Kwarta and former team president Jeff Levack stated that joining the IFL was not a certainty, as the Arena Football League remained in play, the name was still under review, and that the new team was able to renegotiate a 60% reduction in its worker's compensation cost which, while still unusually high, was good enough to allow the team to move forward. [9] On October 2, 2023, the Albany Firebirds were announced to be joining the AFL. On October 6, the league announced the addition of the Firebirds, as well as the Southwest Kansas Storm, Wichita Regulators, Orlando Predators, Rapid City Marshals, and a team eventually known as the Washington Wolfpack. [10]
Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
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The Arena Football League (AFL) can refer to one of three successive professional indoor American football leagues in the United States. The first of these was founded in 1986, and played its first official games in the 1987 season, running for 22 consecutive seasons until going bankrupt following the 2008 season. The second league, consisting largely of teams from the first AFL and arenafootball2, purchased the first league's assets out of bankruptcy and resumed play in 2010 as a continuation of the first AFL; this second AFL ran for ten further seasons, before again going bankrupt following the 2019 season. A third AFL, which is not directly connected to the previous two iterations of the league but claiming their histories and trademarks, intends to launch in 2024.
The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014.
The Orlando Predators are a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team is currently owned by John Cheney, and play its home games at Amway Center.
MVP Arena is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacity of 15,500 for sporting events.
The Albany Firebirds were a professional arena football team of the AF2 based in Albany, New York. Albany was granted an expansion team in 2002 and began play as the Albany Conquest. The Firebirds played their home games at the Times Union Center. They are the second arena football team for Albany, as the city was granted an expansion team, the Albany Firebirds, in the Arena Football League in 1990. The team moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in 2000 and played as the Indiana Firebirds through 2004 before disbanding.
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The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.
Allen Beverly "Ben" Bennett II is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Jacksonville Bulls, Chicago Bruisers, Dallas Texans, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, Orlando Predators, San Jose SaberCats and Portland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, and National Arena League (NAL). He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils, earning third team All-American honors in 1983.
Eddie Brown, nicknamed "Touchdown", is a former arena football offensive specialist who played for the Albany/Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1994 to 2003. He played college football at Louisiana Tech.
The 1992 Arena Football League season was the sixth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl VI.
Rob Keefe is a former arena football defensive specialist and coach. Keefe has five championship victories and is the only person in arena football history to win ArenaCup (af2) and ArenaBowl (AFL) titles as both a player and a coach. As of the 2022 season, he is an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Bay Area Panthers in the Indoor Football League.
Kyle Rowley is an American former arena football quarterback. He also played in the former af2. He played college football at Brown.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. For the upcoming 2024 season, the league consists of six teams.
The Albany Empire was a professional arena football team based in Albany, New York, that began play in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2018. Home games were played at MVP Arena located in downtown Albany.
Darius Prince is an American football wide receiver for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL). Before joining the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, he played on various indoor football teams including the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks from 2016 to 2017 and the Soul from 2017 to 2018. Prince received 1st Team All-NAL team honors with the Steelhawks and the ArenaBowl MVP Award with the Soul during ArenaBowl XXX in 2017.
The Albany Empire was a professional indoor football team based in Albany, New York. They were members of the National Arena League from 2021 to 2023 and played home games at MVP Arena. They are named after the defunct Arena Football League (AFL) team of the same name that won the last ArenaBowl before the AFL folded.
The 2022 National Arena League season was the fifth season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league played with only six teams mostly based in the Eastern United States, with one new team arriving from the American Arena League, the San Antonio Gunslingers, based in Texas. The season ended with the Albany Empire, Carolina Cobras, Columbus Lions, and Jacksonville Sharks qualifying for the playoffs and the Albany Empire winning the championship.
The 2023 National Arena League season was the sixth season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league started the season with seven teams following the additions of the expansion team, the Fayetteville Mustangs, and the West Texas Warbirds joining from the Arena Football Association, while the Columbus Lions left the league following the previous season.
The 2024 Arena Football League season will be the 33rd in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the first season as the rebooted version of the league, after it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the end of the 2019 season.