New York Streets kick off arena football at Westchester County Center

Football came to the Westchester County Center in White Plains on the evening of April 20 as the New York Streets of the National Arena League held its home opener.

The transformation of the county center into a venue for arena football was complete with a Westchester County Police color guard for the National Anthem, cheerleaders, and a pre-kickoff coin toss by County Executive George Latimer.

The April 20 game was the first of seven home games for the New York Streets at the County Center. Their season began April 13 in Jacksonville, Florida, where they defeated the Jacksonville Sharks 52-41.  In the home opener, the Streets won again, trouncing the Orlando Predators by a score of 70-31.

The game was televised by the MSG Networks with play-by-play handled by Peter Schwartz whose background includes CBS Sports Radio and Fox News and the voice of the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League from 2001 to 2008.

The field of play in arena football is 50 yards long, compared with 100 yards for traditional football, which also has 10-yard end zones at each end of the field. The playing area is surrounded by dasher boards, like the ones used around ice hockey rinks.  There are nets behind the goal posts to keep the ball from hitting fans.

The New York Streets is owned by New Rochelle residents Corey and Tamara Galloway, the first African-American owners of a football franchise in New York. When he’s not running a football team, Galloway operates Legacy Growth Partners, a business development and investment firm whose clients include professional athletes and business entrepreneurs.