Fans of Arena Football will likely recognize the name “New York Dragons,” a team born in 1995 as the “Iowa Barnstormers” (whose helmet was one of the all time greats), and who moved to New York and began play as the Dragons in 2001. Sadly, that league folded in 2008. Since then, there have been several different Arena leagues (including a 2024 reboot of the original Arena League) which have cropped up over the years.
A(nother) new league has formed for 2025, called the “Entertainment Football Association” or “ENTFLA” and this is the league in which the “new” New York Dragons will play. For the 2025 season, which kicks off on June 6th, the league will have four teams: Danbury Diesel, Garden State Heroes, New Jersey Ciphers, and New York Dragons.
The Dragons have officially unveiled their uniforms, which are a nod to the original NY Dragons, who wore red helmets and black or white jerseys over black pants. The uniforms for 2025 are manufactured by Prodigy Football.
In addition, the team has unveiled a new primary logo and new secondary logos as well:
The new uniforms can be mixed and matched to create four different possible combinations:
Lest you think the uniforms are just using a very 1990s-2000s design, with side panels and truncated, rounded pants stripes, that was all an intentional harkback to the original Dragons uniforms.
ENTFLA Commissioner Andre Reed said “We are so pleased with the unique and modern look of these uniforms. Prodigy X Football, led by founder Aaron Anderson, will provide the ENTFLA with the best possible quality in addition to amazing designs. They were the clear choice for our league’s uniforms.”
The team announced its return with a hype video (what else?):
WE. ARE. DRAGONS. 🐉
Single game tickets are available now!#NewYorkDragons | #FireBreathingFootball | #ENTFLA pic.twitter.com/wliRh9M5zx
— New York Dragons (@NYDragonsFB) May 2, 2025
In addition, the local Long Island News12 had a short feature on the uniforms.
Thank you @News12LI for your coverage of the @NYDragonsFB uniform reveal! #FireBreathingFootball #NYDragons 🔥🐉🏈 pic.twitter.com/wyJnZsudWQ
— Peter Schwartz (@SchwartzSports) May 2, 2025
The other three teams in the new league also have new uniforms (including the referees):
As you can see, they range from semi-classic designs to a very wild look for the Garden State Heroes. Per the League:
A nod to the original Dragons, the New York squad will feature a black home jersey with red, white, and grey trim and bold red helmets. Similarly, the Danbury Diesel design utilizes a black base but with their unique Cobalt Blue and Golden colors along with a brilliant geometric pattern on the sleeves, pants and stripe on the helmet. Perhaps most original in concept, the Heroes will pay respects to America’s real heroes who stand for our freedom and safety with a Blue Camouflage design at home and a matching White Camouflage for the road. Finally, the New Jersey Ciphers boast their unique Green and Gold elements at home and like all ENTFLA teams, white on the road.
The Dragons expect to play an 8-game season, should the new league survive that long.
I never really got into Arena Football, although back in the day, when the Dragons played at their once and future home (the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum), I did catch a game or two live, and enjoyed it. Arena football is nothing like “regular” football played on a 100 yard field, but it does feature plenty of action. If you enjoy your football played on a hockey rink (sans ice), then the arena leagues are for you.
I wish the league success — as we’ve seen, football leagues, particularly indoor ones, tend to come and go, and four team leagues don’t generally survive for very long. Hopefully they will expand or merge with one of the other eight indoor leagues currently playing.
As far as the unis go: I am not a fan of side panels and truncated pants stripes, but I will certainly give the Dragons a pass here, as they’re attempting a modern update on a previous uniform set. But it’s arena football, which over the years have produced some truly outrageous uniforms, so in comparison to some of the unis that have come before, the Dragons’ kits fit right in.
Your thoughts?
Designed by your brother’s 12-year-old kid, whose previous hobby was drawing that weird “S” logo on his PeeChee folders.
Ricky approves.
First time I’ve heard of this league. If it is the Entertainment Football Association, shouldn’t it just be called the EFA? OK – but ENTFLA it is.
The logo is a bit overproduced (too much detail that won’t carry over in different formats), but the uniforms are a fitting tribute to the original team. Dragons games were a total blast growing up — the guarantee of a high-scoring game, the funky rules that make arenaball unique, the Hip Pickles drum corps, and the now entirely co-opted/nonsensical Sparky the Dragon all played a role — and I might try and make it out to a game for this iteration.
Those Heroes uniforms look like what a six-year-old would wear when he comes downstairs on a Saturday morning for a bowl of Crunch Berries.
In my nephew’s youth football league there is a team that has a uniform that looks very similar to that blue camo design, so yeah, that checks out. And it looks about as awful on the field as you can imagine. In fact I think their numbers are either a shade of dark blue or black, which makes them even worse than the nonsense design above.
Atlanta Falcons, is that you?
One of the most underutilized mascots IMO.
I was an arena football fan back in the 90’s, especially with the War on I-4 between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators. The game day experience is great and I have yet to see a league that is so accessible to its fans, especially postgame.
Can confirm, I went probably 30 Predators games as a kid. Mom would drop me and dad off, and then pick us up. I’d have a blast, and dad would be drunk as hell, pretty sure beer was like a $1 or something. Fun times…
Sparky the dragon, the islanders mascot, is leftover from the original Dragons that played at the Coliseum