AFL announces 16 teams; Albany not included

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) -- The Arena Football League is gearing up for it's return. The rebooted AFL announced the first 16 teams with a promo video on social media Tuesday, and it was filled with Albany Empire highlights. The only problem? It appears Albany will not be back in the AFL this season.

Albany was not listed as one of the 16 host cities or states in the announcement. A full list of AFL locations can be found below:

• Austin
• Boise
• California
• Chicago
• Colorado
• Minnesota
• Louisiana
• Ohio
• Orlando
• Oregon
• Philadelphia
• St. Louis
• Tallahassee
• Tennessee
• Washington
• West Texas

Travelle Gaines, who is a principal of the AFL, sent out a tweet addressing AFL and Albany fans. He wrote that the AFL tried to bring Albany into the league, but it did not work out, "not by our efforts." The offical AFL twitter account retweeted that tweet.

MVP Arena General Manager Bob Belber told NEWS10 Sports Director Griffin Haas earlier this summer that there will be arena football in Albany next season. It appears that will have to happen outside of the AFL. NEWS10 reached out to Belber on Tuesday, but he has not yet returned a request for comment.

The Albany Empire were the last team to win an AFL title in 2019.