The New York Empire is an

ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *'' Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *'' The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilat ...

team in the

American Ultimate Disc League American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The team is in the East Division of the league, and won its first AUDL title in 2019 and its second in 2022. The Empire played its first season in 2013.

History

At the beginning of the Empire's history in late 2012, the team almost did not come to fruition, as part-owner Cullen Shaw almost took his Ultimate ownership interest to

Major League Ultimate Major League Ultimate (MLU) was a North American semi-professional Ultimate (sport), Ultimate league from 2013 to 2016. It was composed of eight member teams, seven in the United States and one in Canada. It was formed in 2012, and began its inaugu ...

because of a pending AUDL lawsuit against the

Connecticut Constitution The Constitution of the State of Connecticut is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was approved by referendum on December 14, 1965, and proclaimed by the governor as adopted on December 30. It comprises 14 artic ...

and Rhode Island Rampage. However, Shaw kept with the AUDL and the Empire because of lower ownership costs and more abilities as a team owner. The Empire's first tryout, in January 2013, attracted 60 players, more than other teams holding initial tryouts. The MLU did eventually create a New York franchise, the New York Rumble, and the Empire became the first AUDL team to have a player play for an AUDL and MLU team in the same year when Isaac Saul joined the Empire in 2014 after the conclusion of the Rumble season that same year. After the 2017 season, Barbara Stevens, mother of then-Empire player Matthew Stevens, became majority owner of the team. Before the 2018 season, the Empire signed Beau Kittredge and

Marques Brownlee Marques Keith Brownlee ( ; born December 3, 1993), also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate Frisbee player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast ''Waveform''. As of A ...

, and before 2019, the Empire signed Jack Williams and Grant Lindsley. These signings, combined with existing talent like Jeff Babbitt and Ben Jagt, combined to create a team that some called the strongest in the league since the 2016 iteration of the Dallas Roughnecks. The Empire then proceeded to go 12–0 in the regular season after close calls with

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

and DC, and went 3–0 in the playoffs to win the 2019 championship and become only the third team in league history to finish a season undefeated.

Stadium

The Empire formerly played its home games at MCU Park in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, with some contests being played on

Randall's Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City, Some time after the rail bridge was built, a long, 3 span, steel ar ...

. Before the 2018 season, the Empire moved to Joseph F. Fosina Field in

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

, citing a lack of locker rooms and concessions at Randall's Island as well as better proximity to major thoroughways.

Record

References

External links

Official Website
Ultimate (sport) teams Ultimate teams established in 2013 2013 establishments in New York City Sports teams in New York City {{NewYork-sport-team-stub