| Albany Attack | |
| Division: | Central |
| Arena: | Pepsi Arena |
| Colors: | Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, Silver, White |
| Coach Label: | Head coach |
| Division Titles: | 1 (2002) |
| Blank Label: | PLPA representative |
| Blank Label1: | Formerly |
| Blank Label2: | Later |
| Blank Data2: | San Jose Stealth (2004–2009) Washington Stealth (2010–2013) Vancouver Stealth/Warriors (2014–Present) |
| Location: | Albany, New York |
| Sport: | Box lacrosse |
| League: | National Lacrosse League |
| Founded: | 2000 |
| Last Season: | 2003 |
The Albany Attack was the name of a franchise which played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from the 2000 season through the 2003 season. The Attack played in the former Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York (now known as the Times Union Center). After the 2003 season, the franchise was sold and moved to San Jose, California and renamed the San Jose Stealth. The current incarnation of the franchise, now owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment, is the Vancouver Warriors.
| Year | Player | Award | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach of the Year | |||
| Goaltender of the Year | |||
| Defensive Player of the Year |
| Season | Division | W-L | Finish | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6–6 | T-5th | 4–2 | 2–4 | 169 | 160 | Missed playoffs | ||||
| 5–9 | 7th | 3–4 | 2–5 | 152 | 169 | Terry Sanderson | Missed playoffs | |||
| Central | 14–2 | 1st | 7–1 | 7–1 | 250 | 194 | Lost Championship | |||
| Central | 8–8 | T-7th | 4–4 | 4–4 | 198 | 191 | Bob McMahon | Missed playoffs | ||
| Total | 4 seasons | 33–25 | 18–11 | 15–14 | 769 | 714 | ||||
| Season | Game | Visiting | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | Rochester 10 | Albany 14 | |
| Championships | Toronto 13 | Albany 12 |
The 2002 (called then the 2001–2002) Albany Attack team was the most successful Attack team during the franchise's four years in Albany, New York. It is the only Attack team to have made the NLL playoffs. (Note: The San Jose Stealth made the NLL playoffs in their inaugural season, 2004, as well as the 2007 and 2008 seasons.) The team went 14–2 in the regular season winning the Central Division championship, and went 15–3 overall having lost to the Toronto Rock in the 2002 NLL Champion's Cup Game in Albany.
For various reasons, the Albany Attack were plagued by poor attendance most of their existence with average attendances in the 3000 - 4000 range which was not enough for the franchise to be profitable.
On June 14, 2001, Albany Attack owner Herb Chorbajian, a banker with CharterOne Bank, and Albany River Rats owner Walter Robb announced an agreement in which Robb would purchase a minority equity share in the Albany Attack. Given both teams played in the Pepsi Arena, the purpose of the agreement was to establish marketing and promotional synergy.https://web.archive.org/web/20050220112039/http://www.albanyriverrats.com/news/?id=61
Despite the agreement, the Albany Attack was still not profitable so, throughout the 2002 season, Herb Chorbajian considered selling the Albany Attack. However, the success of the playoffs encouraged him to keep the team for another season. Furthermore, in the summer of 2002, the Albany Attack Pack, the Official Fan Club of the Albany Attack, was created by several fans with hopes of improving attendance.
In the 2003 season, according to Albany Attack General Manager Michael DeRossi, season ticket sales did go up considerably over the previous season, but the marketing effort actually decreased. Furthermore, the Attack went only 2 - 6 in their first eight games, losing all four home games to that point. While the Attack did have a second half record of 6 - 2, they never recovered enough to return to the playoffs nor did they have sufficient attendance to be profitable.
With no significant improvement in attendance throughout the 2003 season, the Albany Attack were destined to be a financial loss for a fourth consecutive year. During that season, there were numerous rumors that Mr. Chorbajian was going to sell the franchise, in particular to a group from San Jose, California.
On June 9, 2003, the rumors were confirmed when an announcement was made that the Albany Attack franchise was sold and relocated to San Jose, California http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=1852 where it was located until 2009. Mr. Chorbajian retained a share in the franchise. This may no longer be the case as the team has since been resold.
During the summer of 2003, the new owners had a "Name the Team Contest" and, on September 16, 2003, the winner, a high school sophomore from San Jose, elected to officially rename http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=1782 the team the San Jose Stealth.
On June 17, 2009, the Stealth announced it would be moving to Everett, Washington effective immediately. The newly renamed Washington Stealth played their home games at the Comcast Arena at Everett beginning in the 2010 season. http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=4000 Four years later, they relocated again to Vancouver, BC, becoming the Vancouver Stealth.