FIRST ON 13: Sources: New arena football team coming to Albany
MVP Arena in Albany (File / WNYT)
Arena Football is coming back to the Capital Region next season.
The new team will be called the Albany Firebirds, sources told NewsChannel 13’s Rodger Wyland.
A press conference will be held at 10:30 on Monday to make it official.
It will be owned by three businessmen, including former Empire owner Mike Kwarta.
They will play in the Indoor Football League – sources told NewsChannel 13. The league has 17 other teams – including many the old Firebirds once played.
The team will replace the Albany Empire, which had a tumultuous ending in the Capital Region, after former NFL player Antonio Brown bought it. That lead to a revolving door of coaches and the firing of players. It ended with the team being kicked out of the National Arena League for an unpaid bill.
The new team marks a return for the Firebirds name, which was used for arena football in Albany from 1990-2000.