BASEBALL
1. Tri-City Valleycats
Home stadium: Joseph L. Bruno Stadium (Troy)
Season: May to August/September
Founded in 2002 as part of the New York-Penn League, the Tri-City ValleyCats are now in the Frontier League—the longest operating independent baseball league in the country, which feeds the most players annually to MLB than any other independent league. Since the team’s founding, 117 former ValleyCats have reached the MLB. One notable ValleyCats alum? Longtime Houston Astros second-baseman Jose Altuve. Local fans love ValleyCats games not only for the high-level baseball, but also for the regular fireworks shows and theme nights. tcvalleycats.com
FOOTBALL
2. Albany Firebirds
Home Arena: MVP Arena (Albany)
Season: March to June
The Albany Firebirds started play in 1990, quickly becoming the most successful Albany arena football franchise in history. The team relocated to Indiana in 2000, and after that, several other arena football teams came and went through Albany, including the Albany Empire, which collapsed due to financial mismanagement under controversial owner Antonio Brown. Now, the Firebirds are part of the new Arena Football One (AFO) league. In the league’s inaugural season, the team went undefeated and won the Arena Crown Championship. Two hours before select home games, South Pearl Street (right outside of MVP Arena) comes alive with a pre-game party involving live music, food trucks, vendors, games, and activities. firebirdsaf1.com
HOCKEY
3. Adirondack Thunder
Home arena: Harding Mazzotti Arena (Glens Falls)
Season: October to April
The Adirondack Thunder is a professional hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League that has affiliations with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and AHL’s Utica Comets. The team emerged in 2015 when California’s Stockton Thunder swapped places with the Adirondack Flames, but the franchise itself stretches back to 1990 under several names and homes. Home games are typically played on Friday and Saturday nights. During the season, 98.5 WCKM hosts its “On Center Ice” radio show with Thunder players at O’Toole’s Restaurant & Pub in Queensbury every Monday night that the team is home. echlthunder.com
BASKETBALL
4. New York Phoenix
Home court: Armory Studios (Schenectady)
Season:Late February to May
The New York Phoenix are the newest professional basketball team to come to the area; their inaugural game was on February 28, 2025. In their first season, they finished first in The Basketball League (TBL) North Atlantic Division, qualifying for the playoffs. nyphoenixbasketball.com
5. Albany Patroons
Home court: Washington Avenue Armory (Albany)
Season:Late February to May
The Patroons have a choppy history dating back to 1982 in Albany. In 1993, the team, at that time known as the Capital Region Pontiacs, relocated to Connecticut. The Albany Patroons picked back up from 2005-2009, ending with another hiatus. The most recent iteration of the Patroons has been playing in The Basketball League since 2018. albanypatroonsbasketball.com
LACROSSE
6. New York Atlas (field lacrosse)
Home stadium: Casey Stadium (Albany)
Season:Late May to August/September
The New York Atlas was one of the six founding members of the Premier Lacrosse League for the 2019 season. Their mascot—a bull—was inspired by Wall Street’s Charging Bull statue and the hard-nosed nature of New York sports.
premierlacrosseleague.com
Farewell, FireWolves (box lacrosse)
The box lacrosse team, which began play in the 518 in the 2021-2022 season, is relocating to Oshawa, Ontario for the 2025-2026 season. This marks the second time a National Lacrosse League franchise has relocated elsewhere from Albany (the first being the Albany Attack, which moved to San Jose after the 2003 season). While fans are disappointed, the logistics which be undeniably better for the team, which consists of many Torontonians who have faced challenges flying directly to Albany. Leaving their latest stomping grounds of MVP Arena, the FireWolves will now play at the Tribute Communities Centre.
