It has been a busy couple of winter weeks in the lacrosse world as the NCAA season is underway, the PLL Championship Series concluded on Monday while the NLL hosted their first UnBOXed Series match between the New York Riptide and the Toronto Rock in Montreal last Friday.
The biggest recent lacrosse news is the National Lacrosse League's announcement that the New York Riptide has been sold/will be relocating to Ottawa. The team will be rebranding as the Ottawa Black Bears under the ownership and management of Senators Sports & Entertainment. They will begin playing at the Canadian Tire Center next season.
The current Saskatchewan Rush franchise was in Ottawa from 2001-2003 as the Ottawa Rebel. Between the Saints (1989-2003) and Titans (2007-2009), the Riptide (owned/operated by GF Sports & Entertainment) is now the third failed attempt at a Long Island NLL franchise. Struggling attendance at Nassau Coliseum was cited as a primary problem for GF Sports.
While the NY Saints & Titans franchises were discontinued, a primary, differentiating factor here is that the Riptide was sold to a legacy NHL ownership group. The NLL franchises that have seen the most promise are linked to NHL/AHL operators.
Toward the end of 2023, the NLL's UnBOXed concept included a potential expansion to Ottawa as the "Electrics"; this expansion idea has seemingly been nixed by an easier acquisition with colors & a brand to better match the Ottawa Senators stadium signage.
The Tampa Bay Snowbirds (Lightning), St. Louis Rhythm (Blues), Minnesota Lake Dragons (Wild), Castors de Montreal (Canadiens/Laval Rocket), & Seattle Shipwrecks (Kraken) are other UnBOXed franchises that are currently in play to be purchased by NHL teams (whether expansion or acquisition/relocation) in the future.
The NLL is also looking at growth opportunities in Baltimore, Charlotte, & Utah where the Premiere Lacrosse League strategically placed teams (Whipsnakes, Chaos, and Archers respectively) within their existing tour model this past fall.
When comparing the business sustainability of the leagues, the fact remains that 15 NLL teams have franchise owners & venues, the PLL's 8 teams do not. The PLL is heavily VC-backed & hopes to attract franchise suitors in Boston, Albany, San Diego, Denver, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City and adopt a regular league model. Without additional funding rounds, it will be hard for the PLL to survive otherwise.
PLL primary investor, Joe Tsai also owns the NLL's San Diego Seals (and LV Desert Dogs) and can hypothetically take control of the PLL's California Redwoods. If PLL investor/NLL Albany Firewolves owner, Oliver Marti acquired the New York Atlas, he could be the second investor to have teams in both leagues. Bob Kraft of the New England Patriots also invests in the PLL and would be well-positioned to own the Boston Cannons. However, Kraft did not lease Gillette Stadium to the PLL for the regular season; the Cannons will host at Harvard.
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