NOTE: This is approcimately a ten minute read.
The NLL is expanding to 11 teams in 2019, the first such movement in a decade. But what led us here? I’m not going to go over the entire franchise histories of the league members, but we’ll pick up where the last team came in. In 2009, the second incarnation of the Boston Blazers came to be, just as the Philadelphia expansion team will do next season. This was on the wave of the 2007 CBA dispute and if it wasn’t busy enough, the two year inactive Vancouver Ravens were attempting continuation. They succeeded in renewing their lease with then-General Motors Place, but failed to secure the minimum season ticket sales threshold per their lease agreement.
Boston was to compete that 2008 season to replace the recently on-hiatus Arizona Sting. The team held an expansion draft, though along with Arizona held a dispersal draft as both opted-out of the 2008 season. Boston would return, but Arizona would not and the Chicago Shamrox joined the sting in folding. The 2009 offseason presented further changes as the league contracted with the loss of the Portland Lumberjax at season’s end while, the Shamrox 07 expansion partners New York Titans moved to Orlando for one season based on a 2009 pre-season game between them and Toronto. The Titans stayed in Florida for a season before going on-hiatus. After 2011, Boston followed suit and neither have announced having fold but we have not heard anything on those accounts. As New York was transitioning to Orlando in 2010, The six year stay for the San Jose Stealth came to an end at the HP Pavilion as they would go on to the State Washington and eventually suburban Vancouver in 2014 (more on that later, if you haven’t already heard).
After the loss of the Blazers, there were only relocations to speak of. Edmonton despite recent on-field successes moved to Regina, SK in 2016, while the tension between ownership and fanbase in St. Paul sent the Minnesota Swarm to suburban Atlanta. Aside from that, we return to the Stealth’s move from Everett, WA to Langley, BC - the partial home of the Winter Olympics in ice hockey. Last year the team struggled to win but miraculously getting to host a playoff game, given the collapse of not only the Colorado Mammoth but the Calgary Roughnecks missing the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in 2002. This saved relocation talks for another year. Unfortunately for the Stealth, they won just two of their eighteen games and attendance was well below an average of 2,000 in a five-plus thousand seater. Then a few weeks ago, a massive announcement was made that the team was purchased by the Canucks ownership group, will assume a new identity, and will play at Rogers Arena. In 2012, we got a glimpse from the Save the Ravens Twitter handle that the turf was still in solid condition for a youth clinic held at Rogers Arena. We have yet to learn if they bought the rights of the inactive Ravens franchise.
Now you’re caught up of the past decade’s history, all of which under Commissioner George Daniel, beginning after the CBA negotiations until his departure after the 2015 season. Current Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz has announced his plan beyond Philadelphia and San Diego. But before that, there is the matter of rumblings about Rochester, its owner Curt Styres, and a team possibly coming to Halifax, NS. Rumors about Nova Scotia have been mild at best since 2005, though the most recent gossip has revolved around the Knighthawks owner. Styres was originally speculated to be given an expansion team in Halfiax under the assumption he sells the K-Hawks. Styres has reportedly said that he will take the team with it’s history and identity to the Canadian maritimes and the league would then likely expand to Rochester. In either case, the new ownership of a Rochester-based team comes to a Knighthawks rival - Terrence and Kimberly Pegula of the Buffalo Bandits. That is a story on its own.
Kim and Terry bought the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres in 2011, and with it came the Bandits. It has supposedly been written in to that ownership contract that they would be allowed to own a second team in the NLL. This would be like the current fiasco of the Arena Football League who is just starting to follow the NLL ownership structure of having owners with their own arenas. Just ask Ted Leonsis and less so Buffalo-area native Ron Jaworski. The subplot about the Pegulas may be about one thing: trying to save the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in the downtown of the Flower City. The Pegulas already own the Americans of the AHL, which were purchased between the Sabres/Bandits and NFL’s Buffalo Bills. And to add further, much of Kim's family is from the Finger Lakes region. Plenty of story-lines to read into here.
Back to Sakiewicz’s plan. If it happens as he says, it should be like when he owned the MLS’ Philadelphia Union from their inception in 2009 until he became NLL commissioner upon being ousted from the Union board. He cites in no order that arena status, market feasibility, and ownership credibility as the three components of stable expansion. Last month, the league state report as released by the commish, suggests a plan that (including Halifax, if that has merit) will introduce three new franchises for the two seasons following the upcoming one. There also was a target set to include thirty organizations within a window from 2028 to 2030. The former of the two is very doable but 2030 may be a bit much for this particular league give previous failures.
We’ve already mentioned Nova Scotia, but let’s talk about other markets. How about previous ones? Chicago for a first time market may have been too soon and the fact that they basically got their own arena within a residential town did not help. New York came of the heels of the Saints departure in 2003 and the New Jersey team in 2004 heading to Anaheim for another pair of seasons which over-saturated the Tri-state market. Putting a competing ckub near the Saints may have been what did them in so as to not needing to bring a team back which wouldn’t have been necessary. It is also likely that splitting between MSG and the Coliseum may have been a negative for the Titans. Detroit with the new arena there might be difficult as well as the declined population of the city despite having the border city of Windsor, ON. Charlotte unlike 22 years ago, now has an MLL team. With the success outdoors, maybe this Mid-Atlantic lacrosse hotbed is ready to support a team again. Whether it be Baltimore or DC, it has been over 15 seasons since a team last called the Capitol-area home. Both of which had half of the league’s original four franchises and Baltimore lasted 13 seasons and two more in DC with a year in Pittsburgh in between before shipping off to Colorado. The aforementioned Ted Leonsis given his current activity with the AFL may be willing to take on another sport franchise especially once the league gains traction again to a point where he could sell one to get an NLL team. Finally for me, the great fans of the former Minnesota Swarm. They deserved better ownership than the Arlotta family (based on the information within the lacrosse community). I don’t doubt they deserve a new club. There have also been suggestions that Edmonton will eventually need to have a team return.
Looking into new ventures, San Diego will be interesting heading into this month’s expansion draft. But let’s discuss both hinted at and unmentioned locales. Dallas has popped up now and again while Salt Lake City has gone cold. Dallas would be interesting, especially if Mark Cuban gets involved - I didn’t believe it until the MLL’s Rochester team had gotten moved out there. Salt Lake I just can’t see even if they play at Vivint Smart Home Arena. St. Louis was mentioned for a time and that is luke-warm for me and I am still on the fence there. I would like to try Winnipeg to see if that could be viable and might also create a rivalry for the potential Minnesota team. Las Vegas may as well be considered given the recent trend in sports. I think Tampa was mentioned as a potential Florida market in the early 2000s but Orlando came and went like a summer breeze down there. Tampa or Miami would be preferable to Orlando as they would be new while still already having been in Florida for at least a season. Cleveland might be a stretch and they’ve already been to Columbus, but I feel Cincinnati could be a reasonable consideration. As for Michigan if Detroit is out, perhaps we take a look at Grand Rapids given their rather successful Arena Football League team has been gone for some time, they could go for some form of pro team at Van Andel Arena.
There are with these suggestions also the problem of how to balance the league, to reconfigure more divisions and make the current east and west ones into conferences, among other dilemmas. Whatever the league plans to do, there is a guideline that was successful elsewhere but need to make the necessary adjustments to their needs. I would make my suggestions through an alternate history, which I can discuss at a later point in time. For now, this is a lot to process. Let’s see what the 2019 expansion and prospect of Halifax both bring us in the next year or so before we look beyond the 2021 plans.
The NLL is expanding to 11 teams in 2019, the first such movement in a decade. But what led us here? I’m not going to go over the entire franchise histories of the league members, but we’ll pick up where the last team came in. In 2009, the second incarnation of the Boston Blazers came to be, just as the Philadelphia expansion team will do next season. This was on the wave of the 2007 CBA dispute and if it wasn’t busy enough, the two year inactive Vancouver Ravens were attempting continuation. They succeeded in renewing their lease with then-General Motors Place, but failed to secure the minimum season ticket sales threshold per their lease agreement.
Boston was to compete that 2008 season to replace the recently on-hiatus Arizona Sting. The team held an expansion draft, though along with Arizona held a dispersal draft as both opted-out of the 2008 season. Boston would return, but Arizona would not and the Chicago Shamrox joined the sting in folding. The 2009 offseason presented further changes as the league contracted with the loss of the Portland Lumberjax at season’s end while, the Shamrox 07 expansion partners New York Titans moved to Orlando for one season based on a 2009 pre-season game between them and Toronto. The Titans stayed in Florida for a season before going on-hiatus. After 2011, Boston followed suit and neither have announced having fold but we have not heard anything on those accounts. As New York was transitioning to Orlando in 2010, The six year stay for the San Jose Stealth came to an end at the HP Pavilion as they would go on to the State Washington and eventually suburban Vancouver in 2014 (more on that later, if you haven’t already heard).
After the loss of the Blazers, there were only relocations to speak of. Edmonton despite recent on-field successes moved to Regina, SK in 2016, while the tension between ownership and fanbase in St. Paul sent the Minnesota Swarm to suburban Atlanta. Aside from that, we return to the Stealth’s move from Everett, WA to Langley, BC - the partial home of the Winter Olympics in ice hockey. Last year the team struggled to win but miraculously getting to host a playoff game, given the collapse of not only the Colorado Mammoth but the Calgary Roughnecks missing the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in 2002. This saved relocation talks for another year. Unfortunately for the Stealth, they won just two of their eighteen games and attendance was well below an average of 2,000 in a five-plus thousand seater. Then a few weeks ago, a massive announcement was made that the team was purchased by the Canucks ownership group, will assume a new identity, and will play at Rogers Arena. In 2012, we got a glimpse from the Save the Ravens Twitter handle that the turf was still in solid condition for a youth clinic held at Rogers Arena. We have yet to learn if they bought the rights of the inactive Ravens franchise.
Now you’re caught up of the past decade’s history, all of which under Commissioner George Daniel, beginning after the CBA negotiations until his departure after the 2015 season. Current Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz has announced his plan beyond Philadelphia and San Diego. But before that, there is the matter of rumblings about Rochester, its owner Curt Styres, and a team possibly coming to Halifax, NS. Rumors about Nova Scotia have been mild at best since 2005, though the most recent gossip has revolved around the Knighthawks owner. Styres was originally speculated to be given an expansion team in Halfiax under the assumption he sells the K-Hawks. Styres has reportedly said that he will take the team with it’s history and identity to the Canadian maritimes and the league would then likely expand to Rochester. In either case, the new ownership of a Rochester-based team comes to a Knighthawks rival - Terrence and Kimberly Pegula of the Buffalo Bandits. That is a story on its own.
Kim and Terry bought the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres in 2011, and with it came the Bandits. It has supposedly been written in to that ownership contract that they would be allowed to own a second team in the NLL. This would be like the current fiasco of the Arena Football League who is just starting to follow the NLL ownership structure of having owners with their own arenas. Just ask Ted Leonsis and less so Buffalo-area native Ron Jaworski. The subplot about the Pegulas may be about one thing: trying to save the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in the downtown of the Flower City. The Pegulas already own the Americans of the AHL, which were purchased between the Sabres/Bandits and NFL’s Buffalo Bills. And to add further, much of Kim's family is from the Finger Lakes region. Plenty of story-lines to read into here.
Back to Sakiewicz’s plan. If it happens as he says, it should be like when he owned the MLS’ Philadelphia Union from their inception in 2009 until he became NLL commissioner upon being ousted from the Union board. He cites in no order that arena status, market feasibility, and ownership credibility as the three components of stable expansion. Last month, the league state report as released by the commish, suggests a plan that (including Halifax, if that has merit) will introduce three new franchises for the two seasons following the upcoming one. There also was a target set to include thirty organizations within a window from 2028 to 2030. The former of the two is very doable but 2030 may be a bit much for this particular league give previous failures.
We’ve already mentioned Nova Scotia, but let’s talk about other markets. How about previous ones? Chicago for a first time market may have been too soon and the fact that they basically got their own arena within a residential town did not help. New York came of the heels of the Saints departure in 2003 and the New Jersey team in 2004 heading to Anaheim for another pair of seasons which over-saturated the Tri-state market. Putting a competing ckub near the Saints may have been what did them in so as to not needing to bring a team back which wouldn’t have been necessary. It is also likely that splitting between MSG and the Coliseum may have been a negative for the Titans. Detroit with the new arena there might be difficult as well as the declined population of the city despite having the border city of Windsor, ON. Charlotte unlike 22 years ago, now has an MLL team. With the success outdoors, maybe this Mid-Atlantic lacrosse hotbed is ready to support a team again. Whether it be Baltimore or DC, it has been over 15 seasons since a team last called the Capitol-area home. Both of which had half of the league’s original four franchises and Baltimore lasted 13 seasons and two more in DC with a year in Pittsburgh in between before shipping off to Colorado. The aforementioned Ted Leonsis given his current activity with the AFL may be willing to take on another sport franchise especially once the league gains traction again to a point where he could sell one to get an NLL team. Finally for me, the great fans of the former Minnesota Swarm. They deserved better ownership than the Arlotta family (based on the information within the lacrosse community). I don’t doubt they deserve a new club. There have also been suggestions that Edmonton will eventually need to have a team return.
Looking into new ventures, San Diego will be interesting heading into this month’s expansion draft. But let’s discuss both hinted at and unmentioned locales. Dallas has popped up now and again while Salt Lake City has gone cold. Dallas would be interesting, especially if Mark Cuban gets involved - I didn’t believe it until the MLL’s Rochester team had gotten moved out there. Salt Lake I just can’t see even if they play at Vivint Smart Home Arena. St. Louis was mentioned for a time and that is luke-warm for me and I am still on the fence there. I would like to try Winnipeg to see if that could be viable and might also create a rivalry for the potential Minnesota team. Las Vegas may as well be considered given the recent trend in sports. I think Tampa was mentioned as a potential Florida market in the early 2000s but Orlando came and went like a summer breeze down there. Tampa or Miami would be preferable to Orlando as they would be new while still already having been in Florida for at least a season. Cleveland might be a stretch and they’ve already been to Columbus, but I feel Cincinnati could be a reasonable consideration. As for Michigan if Detroit is out, perhaps we take a look at Grand Rapids given their rather successful Arena Football League team has been gone for some time, they could go for some form of pro team at Van Andel Arena.
There are with these suggestions also the problem of how to balance the league, to reconfigure more divisions and make the current east and west ones into conferences, among other dilemmas. Whatever the league plans to do, there is a guideline that was successful elsewhere but need to make the necessary adjustments to their needs. I would make my suggestions through an alternate history, which I can discuss at a later point in time. For now, this is a lot to process. Let’s see what the 2019 expansion and prospect of Halifax both bring us in the next year or so before we look beyond the 2021 plans.
