Their name was a reference to the peregrine falcon, several of which make their nests on ledges high up on New York's skyscrapers.

Among the ownership of the new New Jersey Red Dogs were several ex-NFL players, most notably former New York Giant Joe Morris.

Meanwhile, the cross-river Red Dogs, under Head Coach John Hufnagel, had charged out of the gate, winning 8 of their first 9 games, and setting a (then) league record by scoring 91 points in one game against the Texas Terror (a record which was surpassed in 2001 when the New York Dragons scored 99 against the Carolina Cobras).

In 1998, the CityHawks replaced Kuharich with veteran NCAA coach Chuck Shelton, who was taking his first Arena Football job.

The Toronto Phantoms marked an abortive attempt by the Arena Football League to enter Canada.

The majority share of the team was owned by Rogers Communications[1][2] alongside minority owners Ronnie Strasser, Peter Shoniker and Simon Serruya The group paid a reported $6–8 million for the franchise.

The name was also a nod to minority owner Ronnie Strasser, whose family owned Phantom Industries, a women's hosiery company.

In 2001, the Phantoms posted a reasonable 8–6 record, winning the AFL Eastern Division Championship,[4] and making the playoffs.

Six years later, Rogers entered into a five-year sharing agreement with Ralph Wilson to lease Wilson's NFL Buffalo Bills to Rogers for an annual regular season game in exchange for cash, marking the return of American football to Canada, after a fashion.