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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders ownership
group has purchased the Arena Football League's Iowa
Barnstormers and will move the team to Nassau Coliseum for the
2001 season.
Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar teamed with Computer Associates
co-founder Russell Artzt to buy the indoor football league team.
They will formally make the announcement Wednesday afternoon at
the Nassau Coliseum.
The Barnstormers, who played their first six seasons in Iowa and
produced NFL Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner of the St. Louis
Rams, will be renamed the New York Dragons, for Wang's Asian
heritage.
Wang, the billionaire founder of the Long Island-based Computer
Associates, and Kumar were introduced as the Islanders' new
owners in April after purchasing the team from brothers Howard
and Edward Milstein and Steven Gluckstern.
The purchase and move of the Barnstormers will give the Nassau
Coliseum a third tenant, joining the Islanders and New York
Saints of the National Lacrosse League. The Saints have outside
ownership.
The new owners timed their purchase perfectly, with the NFL
reportedly interested in buying 49.9 percent of the Arena
League, making franchises even more valuable.
The Barnstormers finished first in the Central Division last
season, going 9-5. They have made the playoffs in five of their
six seasons, winning four division titles and twice reaching the
title game.
They also drew nearly 7,300 fans per home game to their
11,000-seat arena. The Islanders, one of the worst draws in the
NHL, attracted 6,336 fans against Anaheim on October 17.
The Barnstormers will be the third Arena team to relocate since
the end of the 2000 season, following franchises in Hartford and
Albany. Others reportedly will be moved before the 2001 season.
The only other New York area team in the Arena League is the New
Jersey Red Dogs, who play at Continental Airlines Arena in East
Rutherford. Hartford originally played in New York's Madison
Square Garden. | |
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