New York Empire (Ultimate Frisbee Association) @ The Stadium at Memorial Field (Mt. Vernon, NY)

*This trip occurred on May 29, 2026.

If you’ve never heard of Ultimate before, it’s a sport where players throw a disc around and try to catch it in a part of the field known as the endzone (yes, very similar to gridiron football). The main rules I think are important are that a player can't really move with the disc (though they're allowed to take a few steps in certain situations such as coming to a stop while/after catching the disc), and if the disc is dropped/not caught, it's a turnover. Due to this latter rule, teams typically have entire "offensive" and "defensive" units similar to football and box lacrosse, though UNLIKE those sports, the defense does not switch off after turnovers (i.e. they have to get the disc to the endzone like the offense does when they take it away)¹.

If you’re wondering why I've been using "disc" instead of "frisbee", that’s because "frisbee" is a trademark (much like Wiffle Ball²). In fact, it’s due to this trademark situation that the main "professional" Ultimmate league in the United States (i.e. THIS one) was known as the American Ultimate Disc League until 2024, when it partnered with the company that owns Wham-O (i.e. the owners of the frisbee trademark) and became the Ultimate Frisbee Association.

In 2012, the then-AUDL started up its first season with eight teams. In year 2, four teams were added - including the New York Empire. The team has actually been one of the UFA’s most successful teams - they’ve only had one losing season (which just so happens to also be the only season they missed the playoffs), and they’ve gone undefeated THREE TIMES - each of those seasons ending in a championship (which actually gives them the most championships in the league).

I couldn’t find any SOLID information on their stadium history, but I do know that for a while, they were playing in New Rochelle, NY (basically one of the last major "towns" between Connecticut and New York City heading south on Interstate 95). However, it appears that they have moved to The Stadium at Memorial Field for this season, and as I've visited the Stadium at Memorial Field before, I won't get too into it here (since I did that already). I will note that seating for this game was basically limited to the two middle sections with chairback seats however, and there were large banners over several of the bleachers on either end of the "seating section", but all tickets are sold as general admission, so...

However, with the "open" seating, I also figured I'd see what the view from the top looked like as well:

My original thought for the Empire was actually to visit on May 10, as that was the only afternoon game on the team's schedule (this was BEFORE I saw Westchester SC and the stadium's area)³. However, I was unable to make that trip, so I ended up choosing this as my "new" date. This game also marks the SECOND time I've seen the Empire: when I was living in Massachusetts, I saw them take on the Boston Glory⁴ at a stadium in Medford, MA, but I didn't write about that game and don't exactly remember much outside of New York winning and me going home with a vuvuzela.

That game (which I THINK happened in 2024) was rather close, which I mention because this game...wasn't. New York scored the first six points of the game within the first five minutes, and ended up winning by 23 points - that's more than three football scores.

There was also some high school All Star competition that occurred before the game - there were separate games for boys and girls teams, and I arrived sometime after the girls' game had started. In addition, a drum line (which was decked in Empire colors) performed before the game, at halftime, and after each Empire score of the first half (though seemingly not the second half).

MERCH

I felt like the Empire had a larger merch area than Westchester SC did. It was a bit closer to the gates than the Westchester one, and while it did feature largely "standard" items (i.e. jerseys, shirts, and discs)⁵, I will mention that apparently, the company that supplies the UFA with its jerseys (which, it should be mentioned, is solely focused on ultimate) has two different fabrics which they make jerseys with - though I'm not FULLY sure on how they differ.

Also, they had special shirts for the All Stars (which were made from the "less expensive" fabric), and some were available for purchase. It seemed like they REALLY wanted to get rid of them, as they were essentially selling them at clearance prices (but only AFTER the game mind you). Dave and Busters also had a table at the game, and I won a Shadow the Hedgehog plush toy from them.

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One final note: there is one more team that calls The Stadium at Memorial Field home (the New York Exiles of Women's Elite Rugby), but I don't think I'll be able to catch a game due to them only having five home dates - and none of them work well with my schedule.