Albany Empire (NAL)

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This article is about the former National Arena League team. For the Arena Football League team of the same name that operated in 2018 and 2019, see Albany Empire (AFL).
Albany Empire
Current season
Established 2020
Folded 2023
Played in MVP Arena
in Albany, New York
www.albanyempirenal.com
League/conference affiliations
National Arena League (2021–2023)
Current uniform
Team colorsFiery reddish orange, dark navy blue, grey
     
MascotMac and Jack
CheerleadersAlbany Empresses
Personnel
Owner(s)Antonio Brown
Steve Von Schiller
Charlotte Von Schiller
PresidentAlberony Denis
General managerEddie Brown
Head coachMaurice Leggett (Interim)
Team history
  • Albany Empire (2021–2023)
Championships
League championships (2)
NAL: 2021, 2022
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
NAL: 2021, 2022
Home arena(s)

The Albany Empire were 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.

History

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Establishment

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Original Empire Logo (2021-2022)

In August 2020, Albany was announced as a 2021 expansion team in the National Arena League (NAL) and later obtained the rights to use the name of a defunct Arena Football League (AFL) team, the Albany Empire.[1] The team was owned by the same ownership group, including Ron Tridico and Nate Starling, as another NAL team that was named after a former AFL team, the Orlando Predators.[2] Former AFL Empire head coach Rob Keefe was brought back as head coach along with former Jacksonville Sharks' head coach and Empire assistant head coach Les Moss as assistant head coach.[3] However, by April 2021, both had left to join the Indoor Football League's Iowa Barnstormers, stating they did not have the same plans as the owners.[4][5] The team's head coach during their inaugural season was Tom Menas,[6] who led the Empire to a 7–1 record and an NAL championship.[7]

In November 2021, Tridico's and Starling's majority ownership of the team was sold to local businessman Mike Kwarta, while Tridico and Starling retained a minority stake.[8]

Antonio Brown ownership

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In March 2023, former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown joined the team as a part owner.[9] Brown said on April 16 that he was the "100 percent owner" of the team; Kwarta disagreed, stating that he and Brown each owned 47.5%, with Steve and Charlotte von Schiller owning the remaining 5%.[10] Antonio Brown bought Kwarta's 47.5% stake for $1 on April 19, increasing his stake to 95%.[11] On May 3, 2023, Brown's representatives told the Times Union, a newspaper in Albany, that Brown has no personal ownership or control over the Empire, and that the team is actually owned by Antonio El-Allah Express Trust Enterprise, which is owned by a foreign citizen named Antonio El-Allah. A letter addressed to a Times Union reporter described Brown as "not the owner of this team" and also "not a citizen of the United States at birth", which caused confusion.[11]

On March 3, 2023, Eddie Brown, a longtime member of the AFL's Albany Firebirds and Antonio's father, joined the Empire as vice president of football operations and started being involved in the team's day-to-day operations.[9] Ten days before the season, the team announced that head coach Tom Menas was no longer with the team and that offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Damon Ware became the team's interim head coach.[12] On April 19, the team announced that Kwarta, Director of Media Operations Jeff Levack, and President Matt Woods would be leaving the team.[13]

After the executive departures announced on April 19, 2023, the team went more than a week without access to its payroll systems. Head coach Damon Ware, who had not been paid since April 21, said on May 1 that he had left the team. Also on May 1, following a conflict on the team's bus while returning from a road game against the Carolina Cobras, the team suspended six players, three of whom were team captains and one of whom was the previous season's most valuable player.[14] The team confirmed on Tuesday morning, May 2, that Ware had left and that eight top players had been released.[15]

On May 3, Antonio Brown announced that Tom Menas, who had left the Empire before the start of the 2023 season, had been rehired as head coach. At a press conference, Brown said that the payroll issues have been resolved and did not comment about the team bus incident.[15]

Menas resigned 18 days after his re-hiring, releasing a statement that read, in part, "… I have come to realize that my vision doesn't match our ownership's vision, and I need to do the right thing and step aside to allow the Albany Empire to find a head coach that matches their vision." Brown approached John Audino, the head football coach at La Salle Institute, about being the Empire's head coach; Audino told WTEN that he would not take the job.[16] The team hired Pete Porcelli, La Salle's assistant coach, as its new head coach on May 22.[17] Porcelli coached one game, a 49–27 loss to the Fayetteville Mustangs on May 27, and was fired the following night.[18]

Brown said on June 2 that he had hired Terry Foster, former defensive coordinator for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Indoor Football League, as the Empire's new head coach, the team's fourth different head coach of the 2023 season. He also fired his associate, Ryan Larkin, for "bad representation of the brand" after a local restaurant complained on Facebook that the team had not paid for a food order delivered to the arena.[19] Two days later, the team announced that Foster had not accepted the job offer, and that former Empire player Maurice Leggett had been hired as an interim head coach.[20]

Following Brown's refusal to pay fines and the team not paying for their share of league operating costs, the NAL terminated the Empire's membership on June 15.[21] The league announced plans to rewrite the rest of the 2023 regular season schedule.[22]

Return of the Firebirds

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Bob Belber, general manager of the arena, blamed the Empire's collapse not on Brown's erratic behavior, but on the state of New York's high worker's compensation premiums, which cost $1,500,000 in 2023, or 15 times higher than some other arena teams. Belber said that a lower insurance cost was necessary to field a team in the 2024 Arena Football League relaunch or in the Indoor Football League.[23] Belber was nonetheless "optimistic" that a resolution could be achieved and noted he had been in discussions with two reputable groups to potentially bring indoor football back to the arena.[24]

In 2024, a new Albany Firebirds team began play at MVP Arena. On October 2, 2023, Kwarta formally announced that he had signed a letter of intent to revive the Firebirds in the revived AFL.[25][26][27] The AFL confirmed the Firebirds' arrival on October 5.[28]

Season-by-season results

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League champions Playoff berth League leader
Season League Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2021 NAL 1st 7 1 0 Won semifinal (Carolina) 55–41
Won NAL championship (Columbus) 79–62
2022 NAL 1st 8 4 0 Won semifinal (Jacksonville) 68–67
Won NAL championship (Carolina) 47–20
2023 NAL DNF 1 6 0 League membership terminated with seven scheduled games remaining
Totals 16 11 0 All-time regular season record (2021–2023)
4 0 — All-time postseason record (2021–2022)
20 11 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2021–2023)

References

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  1. ^ "EXPANSION ALERT: ALBANY, NEW YORK JOINS THE NAL". National Arena League. August 13, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "NAL'S ALBANY FRANCHISE TO BRING THE EMPIRE BACK TO THE TIMES UNION CENTER". National Arena League. October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  3. ^ Dougherty, Pete (September 8, 2020). "'I look at it as an opportunity,' Rob Keefe says of return to Albany". Times Union. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  4. ^ Dougherty, Pete (April 12, 2021). "Rob Keefe steps down as coach of Albany Empire". Times Union. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Dougherty, Pete (April 12, 2021). "Rob Keefe: 'When visions don't align ... sometimes it's difficult to move forward'". Times Union. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "STAFF". Albany Empire. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Seelig, Jennifer (August 14, 2021). "Albany Empire fans thrilled to see their team win the NAL Championship". WTEN. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Singelais, Mark (November 12, 2021). "Albany Empire announces ownership change". Times Union. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Sauter, Aaron (March 3, 2023). "Former NFL Wide Receiver Antonio Brown Joins The Albany Empire Of The NAL As Part-Owner". XFL News Hub.
  10. ^ Rubel, Abigail (April 16, 2023). "Antonio Brown says he's the sole owner of the Albany Empire. His co-owners disagree". Times Union. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Rubel, Abigail (May 3, 2023). "Does Antonio Brown really own the Empire? It's complicated". Times Union. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "NFL player Antonio Brown to move to 518, Head coach no longer part of the team". WRGB. April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Mike Kwarta and Key Front Office Personnel Leave The Albany Empire". Albany Empire. April 19, 2023. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Rubel, Abigail (May 1, 2023). "Head coach, several players out at Albany Empire after pay issues and 'incident'". Times Union. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Rubel, Abigail (May 3, 2023). "Albany Empire coach Menas: 'There's no doubt we've had a storm here.'". Times Union. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  16. ^ Haas, Griffin (May 21, 2023). "18 days after his re-hiring, Tom Menas resigns as Empire head coach". WTEN. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Ward, Courtney; Haas, Griffin (May 22, 2023). "Pete Porcelli tabbed as new Empire head coach". WTEN. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Gorenstein, Ben (May 29, 2023). "Albany Empire coach Pete Porcelli fired after less than one week". WNYT. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Singelais, Mark (June 1, 2023). "Albany Empire's Antonio Brown finds head coach, fires associate". Times Union. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  20. ^ Miller, Ashley (June 5, 2023). "Foster out; Maurice Leggett in as interim head coach of Empire". WNYT. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "ALBANY EMPIRE FAIL TO MEET LEAGUE OBLIGATIONS". National Arena League. June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Singelais, Mark (June 15, 2023). "Albany Empire kicked out of National Arena League". Times Union. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  23. ^ Singelais, Mark (July 20, 2023). "Arena GM: Workers' comp stands in way of arena football return". Times Union. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Wang, Jackson (July 16, 2023). "Albany arena football future optimistic". Spectrum News Albany. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  25. ^ Gorenstein, Ben (September 28, 2023). "FIRST ON 13: Sources: New arena football team coming to Albany". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  26. ^ Singelais, Mark (September 28, 2023). "Firebirds back? Arena football returning to MVP Arena in 2024". Times Union. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  27. ^ Haas, Griffin (October 2, 2023). "Albany Firebirds returning to AFL". News 10. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  28. ^ Arena Football League Announces Highly Anticipated Return of Albany Firebirds Franchise
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