Dragons GM Schwartz Prepares For New Arena League With Homage To Past

UNIONDALE, NY — Long Island has arena football again, and an homage to its past. The new team is a throwback as the New York Dragons will debut in June as part of the Entertainment Football Association.

The lineage to the original Dragons and today's franchise are not lost on General Manager Peter Schwartz, a veteran sports anchor and writer.

"We felt that if the Dragons name was available, and people wanted that name back, then that's what we were going to go with," Schwartz told Patch. "Obviously, the name is nostalgic here on Long Island."

The Dragons first version played at the Nassau Coliseum from 2001-2008 in the Arena Football League.

"The made the playoffs five times and won the division championship three times," he said. "We had a very good fanbase."

Dragons' fans will once again head to the Coliseum for home games.

Schwartz, who worked as an announcer for the original franchise, got the executive position after the Dragons were introduced to the media in January. He started as a consultant to organize the event.

"We had almost a 100 people at that press conference," Schwartz said. "About five minutes after the press conference was over, the owner and the league advisor... offered me the job as general manager."

The Dragons' home opener is on Saturday, June 14 against the New Jersey Ciphers.

Watch the full "Patch Weekly Spotlight" interview below with Peter Schwartz.