The Albany Firebirds were the big draw in the Capital Region in the 90’s and early 2000’s and now arena football is close to making a comeback here.

As NewsChannel 13 is reporting the finishing touches are being put on a deal to bring football back to downtown Albany and what is now the Times Union Center.

The departure of the Albany Devils left a hole in the professional sports schedule in the Capital Region and the Arena Football League should fill that void much to the delight of Capital Region fans.

Here is the full report from NewsChannel 13: http://wnyt.tv/a40i8

Arena football ready for another Capital Region touchdown

October 19, 2017 05:24 PM

It looks like arena football is close to coming back to the Capital Region.

The Arena Football League and the Albany Firebirds were extremely popular in the Capital Region from 1990-2000 and a group of investors are right now finalizing plans to bring an expansion team in Arena Football League 1 to the Times Union Center in 2018.

The group of investors includes local businessman Dan Nolan and the publisher of the Times Union, George Hearst. Other potential investors include the Philadelphia Soul, the Arena League team owned by Dick Vermel and Ron Jaworski, plus Joshua Harris who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils could also be in the mix.

The Firebirds drew crowds during their time here and nobody was more popular with the fans than "Touchdown" Eddie Brown was.

The Firebirds won the Arena League Championship in 2000, beating Orlando on national TV.

The league starts in late March or April and runs for 17 weeks.

The addition of Albany would give the league six teams and the Capital Region would be the only secondary market team. Other cities include Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Cleveland.

Credits

Rodger Wyland

Updated: October 19, 2017 05:24

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