League reboots without Empire
The Arena Football League, which folded in 2019 after the Albany Empire’s championship win, has relaunched under new leadership and ownership, the league announced Wednesday.
The AFL plans to return in 2024 with 16 teams playing a 10-game schedule, according to a news release about the relaunch. The league has been approached by more than 16 potential ownership groups, according to CEO Curt Feldtkeller, including some groups with an interest in Albany.
“I think it would be a shame not to have a team in Albany,” Feldtkeller said.
The Empire currently play in the National Arena League and have won back-to-back NAL titles. There has been no talk of movement and the team remains focused on the 2023 NAL season, according to media relations director Jeff Levack. Empire majority owner Mike Kwarta sits on the board of the NAL.
Feldtkeller said he couldn’t comment on whether or not there had been conversations between the Empire and the AFL.
The old AFL was plagued by financial difficulties, filing bankruptcy in November 2019 following a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from an insurance carrier that provided workers’ compensation coverage between 2009 and 2012. The suit has been resolved, Feldtkeller said, though he declined to comment on the nature of the resolution.
To safeguard against future financial trouble, the AFL is vetting the resources of ownership groups as well as securing media contracts, details of which will be announced in the next couple of months.
“Streaming is a component, broadcast is vital,” Feldtkeller said.
Investment group F1 Sports & Entertainment purchased the rights to the AFL in January 2022.
“Our objective when we acquired the AFL was to bring back a storied brand that deserved to be revived and showcased again, globally. We envisioned executing on the old saying ‘Bigger and better,’ but this time, we want to incorporate the components of a modern-day business — streaming, betting, technology, virtual reality, and immerse fan engagement mixed with good old-fashioned iron-man football,” AFL president Anthony Rossi said in the press release.
The NAL will consist of seven teams in 2023 following the addition of the Fayetteville Mustangs and West Texas Warbirds and the removal of the Columbus Lions in the offseason.