A second professional basketball team is coming to the Capital Region.
The New York Phoenix are set to start play at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady beginning in March in The Basketball League, which has teams across the U.S. and Canada.
At a kickoff ceremony Tuesday, Schenectady County Legislature Majority Leader Rich Patierne said it will help the city’s continued rebirth.
“It's not just about game days. Having a professional team here will bring more than action on the court. It means, as was talked about before, economic growth, more jobs, a brighter future for our city and our county. This franchise will draw people to our restaurants, our businesses and our cultural landmarks,” Patierne said.
Other TBL members include the Albany Patroons, who play at the Washington Avenue Armory.
Patierne adds competitive basketball has long had a home in Schenectady, recalling a 1961 game featuring Linton High School’s Pat Riley, the Hall of Fame player, coach and executive, and Power Memorial’s Lew Alcindor, later to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“Linton beat Alcindor that day and his Power Memorial team 74 to 68, a huge upset that people still talk about to this day. Then there's Barry Kramer, another Linton High School alum who became an All American; went on to play in the NBA,” Patierne said.
TBL President Dave Magley, whose professional career included a season each with the Patroons and the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, says Schenectady has the potential to be a sports hub in the Capital Region. Magley adds he hopes to make the team a community asset in addition to entertainment.
“We need you all to think about ways you can work with the ownership group here to utilize our guys, whether that's going to homeless shelters or it's going to youth camps and clinics, or it's going to schools; reading to young people. We want to use that celebrity to have an impact,” Magley said.
Magley says TBL will work in tandem with the Basketball Super League, of which he’s also president, in a similar fashion as the top flights of English soccer.
“That league is growing from eight to go to 24; this league is going to go from 40 to 64, and I can see one of these teams ultimately moving up, and the other team staying where they're at and playing in different leagues, still having rivalry games and stuff like that,” Magley said.
He’s considering other upstate cities, such as Glens Falls, for further expansion.
“It’s a little bit further away, but they've got a wonderful arena that they play hockey in. I think that's where Jimmer Fredette is from. They've got a great basketball tradition. We have a new team in Rochester. We'd like to be back in Syracuse. We'd like to be back in Buffalo. We have a team in Jamestown that moved up to basketball Super League. So there's 15 markets in New York we could be in,” Magley said.
Trevis Wyche, the new team’s first coach and general manager, says he’s responsible for more than gameday.
“You have to talk to agents, you have to talk to players. You have to make sure the players morale is there. Even as a coach, you got to make sure of that, but it's just a whole different aspect, other than coaching,” Wyche said.
A former player for both the Patroons and Saint Peter’s, he says he has what it takes to assemble the inaugural Phoenix squad.
“As a fan favorite for several years over across the water at Albany, I can honestly say that's the best feeling in the world, just giving back to the youth and community and just enjoying their presence at the games, and just enjoying being there with them in the community. And that's just something that I always took pride in, and I can assure you that the same thing will happen when we bring the team here to Schenectady,” Wyche said.
Paul Marquardt, better known as “Paulie Walnutz,” is the new team’s gameday lead. A Capital Region native, Marquardt is former co-owner of the Albany Patroons and current co-owner of the National Arena League’s Carolina Cobras. He says he understands the struggle the Capital Region has faced in trying to keep professional sports franchises alive.
“When the Empire came back in ‘18, ‘19, people welcomed that back with open arms. I was part of that too, of being a fan of those guys, and we averaged 10,000. Led the league in attendance at 10,000 fans a game, and then they were here two years, then the league folded, and everybody just said, ‘forget it.’ And when they came back in ’21, maybe like half the people came back,” Marquardt said.
Marquardt is hoping this time will be different.
