Lacrosse: Northwest Passage
Written by playerpress.com, Friday November 21 2008
Expansion has been a persistent topic in MLL. With the new season beginning in May of ’09 nothing will happen this season. However, including at least two more teams in the West is necessary to stimulate competition.
Currently there are only four teams comprising the West and one is in Chicago. The Golden State is represented in LA and Frisco with Denver completing the division. Having six teams in the East causes an unbalanced schedule that the league has been looking to address. I am here to suggest the Pacific Northwest as the location for two franchises.
Three cities that are on top of the list are Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. All of them have a populous and loyal fan base. Also, they are drawn toward esoteric sports that may not always sell in other areas of North America. For instance, there is no MLL team located in the Southeast and that is understandable. It would not draw from a fan base that is more at home with football and NASCAR.
The three Northwest cities proposed above have a futbol team and several hockey teams throughout their area. Likewise, they are home to several minor league baseball teams that draw well even with the presence of the Mariners.
Rivalries abound in the Northwest. When Seattle had a USL franchise the matches with Portland and Vancouver were always heavily attended. Included at all venues were members of the road team’s rabid fans. The Seattle area hosts two WHL teams and the fans of the junior hockey league’s franchises always go into the other’s house and claim superiority. The same is true when either team play the representatives from Portland and Vancouver. So, local interest would be piqued by a new rival.
As an added incentive, Native American culture is prevalent in the two US cities and First Native traditions are alive in B.C. Therefore an understanding and appreciation of the game is already in place and the Native/First American following would be an added incentive to the fan base.
MLL is not a cash cow league, so having numerous universities that field teams would be useful in terms of recruiting and drafting. Most of the collegiate players never expect an opportunity to pursue a career in lacrosse, so the addition of local teams could open that door.
The locale and people would be ideal for MLL. Summers are not over bearing with heat and humidity at a minimum. However, it is temperate enough to enjoy outdoor activities including sporting events. There are a number of facilities already in place that could easily accommodate a franchise and most of them are available during the May to August MLL season.
Placing two more franchises in the West would both balance the divisions and provide more legitimacy to MLL. Tapping into an available and interested fan base would open up additional revenue. In these days of fiscal responsibility not examining the possibility of expanding to the Northwest would be financially irresponsible. Fans are present and facilities are waiting to be filled.
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