New York Phoenix's Malik Clincy, right, and Arsenio Arrington, seated, celebrate a 3-point shot by a teammate in front of a near-capacity crowd in the second quarter against the Connecticut Crusader during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's Wali Hepburn splits two Connecticut Crusader defenders in the second quarter of action, during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's A.J. Mosby goes up for a layup in the second quarter against a Connecticut Crusader defender, hidden, during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's Mustapha Traore scores against Connecticut Crusaders during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's Malik Clincy, right, and Arsenio Arrington, seated, celebrate a 3-point shot by a teammate in front of a near-capacity crowd in the second quarter against the Connecticut Crusader during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's Wali Hepburn splits two Connecticut Crusader defenders in the second quarter of action, during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's A.J. Mosby goes up for a layup in the second quarter against a Connecticut Crusader defender, hidden, during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
New York Phoenix's Mustapha Traore scores against Connecticut Crusaders during the inaugural home opener for The Basketball League expansion team at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
SCHENECTADY — Let the record show that the first basket scored in the history of the New York Phoenix started as a missed 3-pointer by a player who actually spent a few years attending school in this district.
Shadell Millinghaus’ shot bounced off the rim, but teammate Quadir Welton cleaned up the mess, and all in one motion he laid the ball in, as an energetic crowd welcomed the newest member of The Basketball League with a loud cheer at Armory Studios NY on Friday night.
Fans walked into the cavernous gym to find the Phoenix warming up on a new floor, with a recently installed sound system and big video scoreboards in both end zones.
Singe, the Phoenix mascot, was busy getting his gold beak in frame for selfies with fans, and business was brisk in the concession area, which was grab-and-go and offered a variety of snacks and beverages in bottles and cans.
The overriding theme was a sense of pride not only that the city had a professional sports team to call its own in a market that predominately resides in Albany, but that the Phoenix get to play their home games in this grand building, which seats 1,800 for basketball and appeared to be about 80% full on Friday.
“This is beautiful,” fan Mike Nelson of Schenectady said. “It’s much nicer than the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany. It’s clean-looking, and it’s much bigger than I thought. And it looks in much better shape.”
“I think it’s awesome,” Nelson’s friend Steve Lownsbury said. “I’ve lived in Schenectady for quite awhile now, I started working here in ’93, and the Armory is totally different now. I used to come here for tattoo conventions.
“But I think it’s awesome, and I think they’re going to have a niche here, because they’ve got so many teams in Albany, but coming to Schenectady, it’s something for the local people to have, especially with the casino down the street and Mohawk Harbor.”
Nelson and Lownsbury were each sporting Albany Firebirds hoodies representing their favorite arena football team.
“I like it,” he said. “I like the floor, the uniforms, everything. Very unique and different.”
The team also comes into The Basketball League with a built-in rivalry, and will realize that to its fullest on March 13, when the Patroons come to town for a game.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Nelson said. “The Patroons are long-standing. We were season-ticket holders last year, but this year we decided not to, and then this team came into inception. So we came down to check it out, and we’ll be back here on the 13th.
“We still go to Patroons games, because we like the players, but we know some of the guys here, too. It’s going to be a tough ticket on the 13th.”
“The thing about Albany and Schenectady is you’ve got to have teams that win,” Laporte said. “Then people are going to come. If they don’t do good in the next couple years, who knows if they’ll be here. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to produce a good team from the start and get the fans to come in.”
New York State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, whose district includes parts of Schenectady and Montgomery counties, said a few words of support and encouragement before the national anthem.
He even got a first-hand experience with the new gym on Thursday night, when he was invited to test the floor and shoot some baskets.
“It looks amazing,” he said before addressing the crowd. “We did OK. I was a little rusty. But it’s great to have this hometown team. It’s something we can be proud of. I see lots of familiar faces in the crowd here today, so it’s great to see the support for this historic first game. I hope the crowd brought a lot of energy which it sounds like it has.
