Albany Empire (AFL)General informationFounded2018Folded2019HeadquarteredMVP Arenain Albany, New YorkColorsFiery reddish orange, dark navy blue, greyTheAlbanyEmpire.comPersonnelOwnersTrifecta Sports and EntertainmentMain owners:George Randolph Hearst IIIDan NolanEd SwyerPartner owners (with Philadelphia Soul):Ron JaworskiCraig SpencerPete CiarrocchiCosmo DeNicolaMartin E. JudgeDick VermeilMarques ColstonJahri EvansNicholas GiuffrePhilip JaurigueStewart AnmuthGil PeterHal BrunsonHead coachRob KeefePresidentJohn AdamsTeam historyAlbany Empire (2018–2019)Home fieldsMVP Arena (2018–2019)League / conference affiliationsArena Football League (2018–2019)ChampionshipsLeague championships: 12019Playoff appearances (2)2018, 2019The Albany Empire was a professional arena football team based in Albany, New York, that began play in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2018.
Ron James (American football)Ron James (born April 28, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Northern Arizona Wranglers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He was previously a head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Las Vegas Gladiators from 2005 to 2006, the Utah Blaze from 2010 to 2013, the Pittsburgh Power in 2014, the Portland Steel in 2016, the Tampa Bay Storm in 2017, and the Atlantic City Blackjacks in 2019.
Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
Boardwalk HallJim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built from 1926 to 1929, it was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the new Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. Boardwalk Hall was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the few surviving buildings from the city's early heyday as a seaside resort.
2019 Arena Football League seasonThe 2019 Arena Football League season was the 32nd season and final in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL) before filing for bankruptcy. Prior to the start of the season, the league expanded from four to six teams with two added expansion teams. The 12-game regular season began on April 26 and ended on July 21.
Arena footballArena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, and features between six and eight players for each team playing at any given time depending on the league, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game that can be played on the floors of indoor arenas.
Atlantic City, New JerseyCity in Atlantic County, New Jersey, USCity in New JerseyAtlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a seaside resortcity in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City–Hammontonmetropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Atlantic County for statistical purposes.
Philadelphia soulPhiladelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements.Warren Smith (quarterback)Warren Smith (born February 20, 1990) is an American former professional football quarterback. He is currently the head football coach for Absegami High School, a position he has held since 2025. He played college football for Iona and Maine.Les Moss (American football)Les Moss is an American football coach and current assistant head coach of the Bay Area Panthers in the Indoor Football League (IFL). He was the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2010 to 2016 and the assistant head coach of the Albany Empire of the AFL from 2018 to 2019. He was the head coach of the IFL's Iowa Barnstormers for the 2021 season and the head coach of the IFL's Northern Arizona Wranglers from 2022 to 2024.
Clint DolezelClint Dolezel (born March 25, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback in the Arena Football League (AFL). He currently serves as the head football coach at East Texas A&M University. Dolezel played as a quarterback in the AFL before becoming the head coach of the Philadelphia Soul from 2013 until the league folded in 2019. He played college football for the East Texas State Lions, and was in the AFL for 13 seasons from 1995 to 2008.
Dwayne HollisDwayne Hollis (born July 7, 1989) is an American professional footballdefensive back. He played college football at North Carolina Wesleyan College. He has been a member of the Helsinki Roosters, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Trenton Freedom, Philadelphia Soul, Shanghai Skywalkers, Atlanta Legends, Albany Empire, Orlando Predators, Corpus Christi Tritons, and Billings Outlaws. Early lifeHollis attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.