HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional
box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...
league in North America. The league is headquartered in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. Unlike other box lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring, from December to June. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the
National Lacrosse League Cup The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup. Winners Most Valuable Players All-time Finals appearances since leagu ...
. The NLL has averaged between 8,900 and 10,700 spectators per game each year since 2004.


Box lacrosse rules

The NLL plays four 15-minute quarters with 2-minute breaks between quarters and a 15-minute
half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in ...
. At the start of the each quarter and after every goal, players will "face-off" at the center of the field to determine who will get possession. This is done by the two players pushing the heads of their sticks together with the game ball in the middle. A scrum-like match usually happens when the players on either team try and win the ball. If a game is tied after regulation, the two teams play
sudden death overtime In a sport or game, sudden death (also sudden-death, sudden-death overtime, or a sudden-death round) is a form of competition where play ends as soon as one competitor is ahead of the others, with that competitor becoming the winner. Sudden death ...
. Each team may take a 45-second timeout per half. Each team dresses 19 players: 2 goaltenders and 17 "runners". NLL goals are 4'9" wide and 4' tall. The NLL uses a 30-second
shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wa ...
which is similar to a professional or collegiate basketball shot clock. The clock will start its countdown once one team gets possession of the ball. If the offense does not shoot the ball in time, they lose possession. However, if the offense shoots, misses, and then re-retrieves the ball then the shot clock is restarted. Fighting is a 5-minute major penalty and does not result in an automatic ejection.


Season and playoffs

Each team in the NLL plays eighteen games during the regular season, nine each at home and away. The teams are divided into two divisions: the eight-team East and the six-team West Division. NLL games are typically played on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays while some weekends see a team(s) play twice. The regular season begins in December and ends in April. Starting in 2018, the league announced that the playoffs would be expanded to eight teams to accommodate expansion. For the 2022 playoffs, the top four teams in the East and top three teams in the West automatically qualified. The final playoff spot is awarded to the team with the next best record: the fourth in the West, or the fifth in the East. In 2022, that spot was given to the East's Philadelphia Wings. The first round is single-elimination, and the Conference Finals and Championship rounds are best-of-three.


Players

The NLL adopted a soft salary cap of US$400,000 per team for the 2013 season. The average base salary as of the 2013 season was $19,135. The maximum salary for a franchise player is approximately $34,000. Most NLL players have full-time jobs off the floor, such as Buffalo's John Tavares, a high school teacher in Mississauga,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. As of 2018, the NLL salary cap was $415,000, with Buffalo Business First reporter Paul Lane citing the following pay scale: * Rookies: $10,208 * Second-year players: $12,196-$16,631 * Veteran minimum: $15,165 * Veteran maximum: $30,132 * Franchise player: $37,664 * Average salary: $19,375.21 Although nine of the fourteen teams are based in the U.S., less than 7% of players are Americans. About 83% are Canadians and 10%
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
from either Canada or the U.S.


Teams


Current teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the franchise moved to its present location and has been in one or more previous locations in its history.


History


Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League

The rebirth of major professional box lacrosse in the United States came on March 13, 1986, with the formation of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (EPBLL), which was incorporated by Russ Cline and Chris Fritz. The "Eagle League" moniker was inspired by a meeting with
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
leaders, whose culture views the animal as a tutelary spirit. Previously, in 1985 box lacrosse sponsored an event played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The USA/Canada Superseries was an eight-game series seen as a precursor to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. The league opened play for the 1987 season with two games on January 10, 1987: the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
at the New Jersey Saints (Philadelphia defeating New Jersey by 11–8) and the Baltimore Thunder at the Washington Wave. Darrell Russell was named Commissioner of the league. The four teams contested a six-game regular season before a postseason which saw all four teams qualify for a single knockout tournament which ended with the Baltimore Thunder being crowned as the EPBLL's first champion in 1987. Coached by Bob Griebe, the Baltimore Thunder defeated the Washington Wave by a score of 11–10 to capture the league's first championship. The league announced that a total of 124,536 fans attended Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League games in its first season. Those same four teams played in the second season of the EPBLL. The teams expanded to an eight-game schedule, and set up a three-team playoff with the regular season winner claiming a bye to the title game.


Major Indoor Lacrosse League


1988

The league began its second season with each of the four teams playing an eight-game schedule. The New Jersey Saints became the second league champions by defeating the Washington Wave, 17–16 before 8,125 fans at the Capital Centre. For the Wave, it was the second time in as many years they reached the championship game, only to come away on the short end of a one-goal game. The league then announced that the Saints would relocate to the Nassau Coliseum on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
beginning in the 1989 season. The team name was changed to the New York Saints to reflect their new home. The MILL announced that it would award expansion teams to
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, and Boston, Massachusetts. The teams began play in the 1989 season. The Detroit team was named the Turbos, and began play in the
Joe Louis Arena Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena ...
. Their team colors were announced to be purple, silver and black. The Boston entry was called the
New England Blazers The New England Blazers were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) from 1989 to 1991. They were based in Worcester, Massachusetts, playing at the Worcester Centrum. After the 1991 season, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, becom ...
and they played their home games at the Worcester Centrum. The Blazers used green, orange, and white as their team colors.


1989

Prior to its third campaign, the league changed its name to the more conventional Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), as the spiritual implications of its original name proved too cryptic for most people to understand. The season opened with six teams: the Baltimore Thunder, the
Detroit Turbos The Detroit Turbos were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1994. They were based in Detroit, Michigan. Led by Paul and Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacro ...
, the
New England Blazers The New England Blazers were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) from 1989 to 1991. They were based in Worcester, Massachusetts, playing at the Worcester Centrum. After the 1991 season, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, becom ...
, the New York Saints, the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
, and the Washington Wave. Each of the six teams played an eight-game schedule in 1989, with an even four home and road games. In its first ever regular season game, 12,171 Detroit fans watched the expansion Turbos defeat the Washington Wave, 11–9, in the debut of the 1989 season. As the season went on, regular season attendance figures for the league totalled at 230,724 for 24 regular season games, which made an average of 9,614 people in the stands per game. When adding the postseason, the numbers grew to 255,088 total and an average of 9,811 a game. Later that year, the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
captured the league championship in front of a record postseason crowd of 16,042 at the Spectrum, defeating the New York Saints, 11–10. After the championship game, the league announced the expansion into
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, a team later to be called the
Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding * Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...
, who played at the Civic Arena, sporting the traditional Pittsburgh colors of black and gold, like the
Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.


1990

In 1990, the MILL prepared to open its fourth season with six teams: the Baltimore Thunder,
Detroit Turbos The Detroit Turbos were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1994. They were based in Detroit, Michigan. Led by Paul and Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacro ...
,
New England Blazers The New England Blazers were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) from 1989 to 1991. They were based in Worcester, Massachusetts, playing at the Worcester Centrum. After the 1991 season, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, becom ...
, New York Saints,
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
, and Pittsburgh Bulls. Each of the six teams played an eight-game schedule over the 1990 season. During the near of the end of the season, the New York Saints defeated the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
, 8–5, before the first sellout and the largest crowd in league history: 17,177 at the Spectrum in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. The Saints' victory forced a rematch the next week in the playoffs. However, the Wings won that game and later went on to become the first team to win two league championship games, defeating the
New England Blazers The New England Blazers were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) from 1989 to 1991. They were based in Worcester, Massachusetts, playing at the Worcester Centrum. After the 1991 season, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, becom ...
, 17–7 in front of 11,479 fans. The Major Indoor Lacrosse League later announced that the attendance for 26 total games during the season was 287,585 which was a huge boost, increasing the average attendance a game to 11,060. After the season, the MILL announced the signing of twin brothers, Paul Gait and Gary Gait, 3-time All-Americans at Syracuse to the
Detroit Turbos The Detroit Turbos were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1994. They were based in Detroit, Michigan. Led by Paul and Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacro ...
after being drafted (the two brothers won national championships with the Syracuse Orange in 1988, 1989, and 1990).


1991

The league prepared to open season five with the same six teams. However, this season schedule increased from 8 to 10 games with each team playing five games at home and five games on the road. In the first game of the regular season, the debut of Detroit rookie twin brothers Paul and Gary Gait was successful, as they paced the Turbos to a 20–16 victory over the Baltimore Thunder. The 1991 season was definitely a record-breaking year, especially in Detroit. Rookie twin Turbos, Paul and Gary Gait, set new standards in most offensive categories. Paul scored a record 47 goals, while Gary was second in the league with 32. Gary established new records with 36 assists and 68 points. As a team, Detroit set records for goals scored with 184, assists with 227, and total points with 411. The Detroit Turbos defeated the Baltimore Thunder, 14–12, to claim the league's fifth title and the Turbos' first title. The World Championship Game was attended by 10,814 at the Baltimore Arena. The league announced that Buffalo had been named as an expansion team for league play in the 1992 season. The team was named the Bandits, wearing the colors black, orange, and white, and had their home in Memorial Auditorium. The league promoted the team in conjunction with the Buffalo Sabres. Final league attendance numbers for the 1991 season reached 287,654. On April 20, 1991, the National Division All-Stars defeated the American Division All-Stars, 25–20, in the inaugural League All-Star Game at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.


1992

The league opened the sixth season with seven teams with the expansion Buffalo Bandits joining the league. Each of the seven teams played an eight-game schedule with four home games and four road games. The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Philadelphia Wings, 20–11, in their first ever sellout of 16,325 in Memorial Auditorium. It marked the second sellout in league history. The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Baltimore Thunder in front of their second sellout crowd of the season at the Memorial Auditorium, 16,325. It also marked the first time a team sold out two games in the same season. The expansion Buffalo Bandits advanced to the League Championship Game by defeating the Detroit Turbos and the Gait brothers, 19–16, to win the National Division crown. The Philadelphia Wings defeated the Saints, 8–6, to capture the American Division Championship. For the first time, an expansion team won the league's World Championship, as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Philadelphia Wings, 11–10, in overtime.


1993

Buffalo won their second consecutive League Championship with a 13–12 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Wings before 16,325 in the sold-out Memorial Auditorium. The Bandits kept their 18-game winning streak alive, the longest in professional sports. Buffalo joined the Wings as the only team in league history to win back-to-back championships. The League and the Players Association announced a three-year contract agreement and the league signed a six-year agreement with
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.


1994

ESPN2's first Monday night broadcast featured the Detroit Turbos against the Baltimore Thunder. The Philadelphia Wings denied the Buffalo Bandits a third consecutive World Championship by defeating the Bandits, 26–15, in front of a sellout crowd of 16,284 at Memorial Auditorium. The win gave the Wings its third League Championship in their history, the most of any league team. ESPN broadcast the game live from Buffalo, marking the first live telecast by ESPN of a league game. The league announced that
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, would be awarded an expansion team for the 1995 season.


1995

The expansion Rochester Knighthawks won their inaugural game, 12–8, against the New York Saints in the War Memorial. Philadelphia broke the league's attendance record as 17,380 fans witnessed the Wings defeat of the Baltimore Thunder in the regular season finale. For the first time in league history, Paul Gait of Rochester played against his twin brother Gary Gait of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Wings won back-to-back championships by defeating the Rochester Knighthawks, 15–14, in a thrilling overtime game. As of 1995, the Wings had won four league titles in their nine-year history.


1996

Before the beginning of the 1996 season, the second-to-last season that the NLL would be known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, it was announced that the season would be expanded to 10 games. In addition, the
Boston Blazers The Boston Blazers were an indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers were based in Boston, Massachusetts, and began play in the 2009 NLL season. The team was owned by Tim Armstrong, the former President of Advertis ...
announced their new home in the Fleet Center for 1996. Another big crowd of 16,818, the fourth largest in league history, watched the Wings defeat the Charlotte Cobras at CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Wings advanced to their fifth consecutive league championship game by defeating the
Boston Blazers The Boston Blazers were an indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers were based in Boston, Massachusetts, and began play in the 2009 NLL season. The team was owned by Tim Armstrong, the former President of Advertis ...
, 10–8, a week before. That was the final MILL game to be played in the historic arena. However, the Buffalo Bandits played spoiler to the Wings, and denied them a third consecutive league championship, as Buffalo beat Philadelphia, 15–10, in the 1996 league championship game, in front of a sold-out Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo. The Bandits picked up their third championship win, and said goodbye to their own arena, at the culmination of the season.


1997

The 11th season opened with three games, including Rochester playing Buffalo at the Bandits' new home, the Marine Midland Arena, in front of a new league record crowd of 18,595 fans. The Knighthawks of Rochester, coached by Barry Powless, later claimed their first MILL championship title in 1997, in front of the second largest crowd in MILL history, 18,055, also played at the Marine Midland Arena. ;NLL Franchise Timeline by Location ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:150 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat= dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1987 till:01/07/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:NE value:red legend:Wings/Black_Wolves/FireWolves id:Balt value:yellow legend:Thunder/CrosseFire/Power/Mammoth id:WashDC value:darkblue legend:Wave id:NJ value:blue legend:Saints id:Detroit value:rgb(0.75,0,1) legend:Turbos id:Boston value:green legend:Blazers_(MILL) id:Pitt value:yelloworange legend:Bulls id:Buffalo value:rgb(1,0.3,0) legend:Bandits id:Rochester value:rgb(0.31,0.58,0.81) legend:Knighthawks_(new) id:Charlotte value:magenta legend:Cobras id:Syracuse value:gray(0.3) legend:Smash/Rebel/Rush id:Ontario value:gray(0.9) legend:Raiders/Rock id:Albany value:skyblue legend:Attack/Stealth/Warriors id:Columbus value:claret legend:Landsharks/Sting id:NJ2 value:gray(0.6) legend:Storm id:Minn value:rgb(0,0.16,0.43) legend:Express/Swarm id:Vancouver value:black legend:Ravens id:Calgary value:rgb(0.7,0.06,0.1) legend:Roughnecks id:Portland value:rgb(0.85,0.7,0.3) legend:LumberJax id:Chicago value:teal legend:Shamrox id:NY value:orange legend:Titans id:Blazers value:rgb(0.84,0.13,0.16) legend:Blazers id:Phila value:rgb(0.96,0.86,0.59) legend:Wings_(new) id:SD value:rgb(0.38,0.2,0.58) legend:Seals id:NY2 value:rgb(0.9,0.4,0.1) legend:Riptide id:Halifax value:purple legend:Knighthawks/Thunderbirds Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 columnwidth:550 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1987 gridcolor:black BarData = bar:Phila text:Philadelphia bar:Balt text:Baltimore bar:WashDC text:Washington, DC bar:NJ text:New Jersey bar:NY text:New York bar:Detroit text:Detroit bar:NE text:New England (MA) bar:Pitt text:Pittsburgh bar:Boston text:Boston bar:Buffalo text:Buffalo bar:Rochester text:Rochester bar:Charlotte text:Charlotte bar:Syracuse text:Syracuse bar:Ontario text:Ontario bar:Toronto text:Toronto bar:Albany text:Albany bar:Columbus text:Columbus bar:Ottawa text:Ottawa bar:Montreal text:Montreal bar:Van text:Vancouver bar:Calgary text:Calgary bar:Colorado text:Colorado bar:SJ text:San Jose bar:Arizona text:Arizona bar:Anaheim text:Anaheim bar:Minn text:Minnesota bar:Portland text:Portland bar:Edmonton text:Edmonton bar:Chicago text:Chicago bar:Orlando text:Orlando bar:WA text:Washington (state) bar:CT text:New England (CT) bar:GA text:Georgia bar:Sask text:Saskatchewan bar:SD text:San Diego bar:Halifax text:Halifax PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black align:left bar:Phila from:start till:04/08/2014 color:NE bar:Phila from:01/12/2018 till:end color:Phila bar:Balt from:start till:31/12/1999 color:Balt bar:WashDC from:start till:01/05/1989 color:WashDC bar:WashDC from:01/01/2001 till:31/12/2002 color:Balt bar:NJ from:start till:31/12/1988 color:NJ bar:NJ from:01/01/2002 till:31/12/2003 color:NJ2 bar:NY from:01/01/1989 till:01/05/2003 color:NJ bar:NY from:01/01/2007 till:11/08/2009 color:NY bar:NY from:01/12/2019 till:end color:NY2 bar:Detroit from:01/01/1989 till:01/05/1994 color:Detroit bar:NE from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1991 color:Boston bar:NE from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2021 color:NE bar:Pitt from:01/01/1990 till:01/05/1993 color:Pitt bar:Pitt from:01/01/2000 till: 31/12/2000 color:Balt bar:Boston from:01/01/1992 till:01/05/1997 color:Boston bar:Boston from:01/01/2009 till:30/08/2011 color:Blazers bar:Buffalo from:01/01/1992 till:end color:Buffalo bar:Rochester from:01/01/1995 till:12/01/2019 color:Halifax bar:Rochester from:12/01/2019 till:end color:Rochester bar:Charlotte from:01/01/1996 till:01/05/1996 color:Charlotte bar:Syracuse from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/2000 color:Syracuse bar:Ontario from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/1998 color:Ontario bar:Toronto from:01/01/1999 till:end color:Ontario bar:Albany from:01/01/2000 till:31/08/2003 color:Albany bar:Albany from:01/01/2021 till:end color:NE bar:Columbus from:01/01/2001 till:28/08/2003 color:Columbus bar:Ottawa from:01/01/2001 till:01/05/2003 color:Syracuse bar:Montreal from:01/11/2001 till:01/05/2002 color:Minn bar:Van from:01/01/2002 till:01/05/2004 color:Vancouver bar:Calgary from:01/01/2002 till:end color:Calgary bar:Colorado from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Balt bar:SJ from:01/09/2003 till:17/06/2009 color:Albany bar:Arizona from:28/08/2003 till:16/10/2007 color:Columbus bar:Anaheim from:01/01/2004 till:01/05/2005 color:NJ2 bar:Minn from:01/01/2005 till:29/05/2015 color:Minn bar:Portland from:01/01/2006 till:04/05/2009 color:Portland bar:Edmonton from:01/01/2006 till:20/07/2015 color:Syracuse bar:Chicago from:01/01/2007 till:12/12/2008 color:Chicago bar:Orlando from:11/08/2009 till:01/07/2010 color:NY bar:WA from:17/06/2009 till:27/06/2013 color:Albany bar:Van from:27/06/2013 till:end color:Albany bar:CT from:04/08/2014 till:end color:NE bar:GA from:29/05/2015 till:end color:Minn bar:Sask from:20/07/2015 till:end color:Syracuse bar:SD from:01/12/2018 till:end color:SD bar:Halifax from:12/01/2019 till:end color:Halifax


National Lacrosse League

In 1997, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was reconstituted with a new name, the National Lacrosse League. Two expansion teams, the Syracuse Smash and Ontario Raiders, joined the previous MILL teams. John Livsey, Jr. was named as the first Commissioner of the National Lacrosse League.


1998

The 1998 regular season schedule was announced with teams now playing 12 games (six at home and six on the road) and facing their six opponents twice during the regular season (once at home and once on the road). In addition, the playoff format saw a best-of-three championship series with semifinal playoff action still taking place in a single-game elimination format, though sites of all post-season games were based on regular season record. A blockbuster trade saw seven-time All-Pro Paul Gait go to the expansion Syracuse Smash in exchange for draft picks and player compensation. Reigning league MVP Gary Gait was sent to Baltimore in a blockbuster trade involving player and cash compensation. The Philadelphia Wings swept the best-of-three Championship Series with a 17–12 win over the Thunder after having won 16–12 two days earlier. The second game marked the first title game appearance by Baltimore since 1991, and the win was Philadelphia's fifth in franchise history. Wings goaltender Dallas Eliuk was named Championship Series MVP.


1999

The Toronto Rock finished the season with a perfect home record, going a combined 8–0 (regular season and playoffs) after a 13–10 win over the Rochester Knighthawks in the Championship Game before a sellout crowd of 15,691 in Maple Leaf Gardens. The game was televised throughout Canada by CTV SportsNet, and in the United States on ESPN2.


2000

18,911 fans packed the First Union Center in Philadelphia to watch the Philadelphia Wings battle the Pittsburgh CrosseFire. Pittsburgh won the game, 14–8. At the time, this was the largest single-game crowd to ever see a professional box lacrosse game. Kaleb Toth beat K-Hawks goaltender Pat O'Toole with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the Toronto Rock a 14–13 victory, and their second straight championship. Considered to be among the best lacrosse games ever played, the 2000 Final was the last sporting event to be held in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. The city of Columbus, Ohio was granted an expansion team. Former League Commissioner John Livsey lead the Landsharks. At a press conference at the ESPNZone in New York City, Jim Jennings was named the new Commissioner of the National Lacrosse League. Jennings announced that league headquarters would be relocated from Buffalo, New York, to Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Commissioner Jim Jennings appointed George Daniel to the position of Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel for the NLL.


2001

In front of the league's largest crowd in history, the Philadelphia Wings won their sixth League Championship Title with a 9–8 win over the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre in front of 19,409 fans. Wings goaltender Dallas Eliuk was named Most Valuable Player. The league announced that expansion franchises were awarded to Montreal, New Jersey, Calgary and Vancouver for the following season.


2002

The Vancouver Ravens played their inaugural home game at General Motors Place in Vancouver. The Ravens gave the crowd of 13,772 much to cheer about, beating the Toronto Rock 13–12. The crowd made history as the largest ever to attend the first home game of an expansion franchise. The Albany Attack hosted the Toronto Rock in the 2002 Final. The Rock defeated the Attack by a score of 13–12 to capture their third title, all won in the past four seasons. 9,289 fans watched the game at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Toronto forward Colin Doyle was voted Championship Game MVP, scoring three goals and one assist. The league announced the sale and relocation of the Washington Power franchise to the city of Denver, Colorado, with the franchise playing its home games at Pepsi Center. The team was then owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, whose holdings include the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and Pepsi Center. The new team marked the league's first U.S. team from west of the Mississippi River.


2003

The Colorado Mammoth played their inaugural home game at Pepsi Center in Denver. The Mammoth treated the home crowd of 16,121 fans to a thrilling 13–12 win in double overtime against the Toronto Rock. The crowd broke the previous record for an inaugural home game attendance, previously held by the Vancouver Ravens (13,772 in 2001). In front of a sellout crowd of 18,207 at Pepsi Center, the Colorado Mammoth defeated the New York Saints by a score of 19–13. The crowd was the first of two sellout crowds the Mammoth would host during their first season. The Rochester Knighthawks hosted the Toronto Rock in the 2003 Champion's Cup Final. The Rock defeated the Knighthawks by a score of 8–6 to capture their fourth title, all won in the past five seasons. 11,051 fans attended the game at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Toronto goalie Bob Watson earned Championship Game MVP honors with his 40 saves.


2004

A new divisional format was announced for the regular season. The first-ever Western Division consisted of Anaheim, Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, San Jose, and Vancouver. The East consisted of Buffalo, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Toronto. The top three teams in each division would earn playoff berths with the division champions receiving byes. The second and third-place finishers would face each other in the opening round with the winners facing their respective division champions in the semi-final round. The semi-final winners (East vs. West) would meet in the 2004 Champions' Cup Final with the higher seed hosting. Fox Sports Net became the league's new national broadcast partner in the United States. Fox Sports Net carried nine regular-season game broadcasts spread across the schedule to over 50 million homes. Fox Sports Net featured the 2004 All-Star Game on February 22, 2004. The Arizona Sting played their inaugural home game at the Glendale Arena in Arizona. The game became the first event ever held inside the new arena. The Sting defeated the Vancouver Ravens by a score of 16–12 in front of 12,789 fans. The Colorado Mammoth hosted a sellout crowd of 18,305 at Pepsi Center in a 14–13 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks. The Mammoth went on to record five sellout crowds on the season. The 2004 All-Star Game was played in front of 16,742 fans at Pepsi Center in Denver, home of the Colorado Mammoth. The crowd was the largest All-Star Game crowd in league history. The East Division All-Stars defeated the West Division All-Stars by a score of 19–15. The Calgary Roughnecks won their first ever Champion's Cup by defeating the Buffalo Bandits 14–11 at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. The game was played in front of 19,289 fans. The sellout crowd was the largest in Roughnecks history and the second highest single game attendance total in NLL history.


2005

The National Lacrosse League reached a new 3-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Professional Lacrosse Player's Association (PLPA). The agreement covers the league's 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons. The league announced the placement of a franchise in Minnesota. The new team would be owned and operated by Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League. The Minnesota team entered the league for the 2005 season and played its home games at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. A new preseason attendance record was set as 14,084 fans come to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the first home exhibition game of the expansion Minnesota Swarm. The game marked the first professional lacrosse game ever played in the state of Minnesota. The National Lacrosse League All-Star Game aired live on NBC at 2 PM Eastern. The game became the first live broadcast of lacrosse on national U.S. network television. The game was also televised in Canada on The Score, and internationally via CNBC International, CNBC Asia, and on Armed Forces Network. The East Division (Buffalo, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Toronto) defeated the West Division (Anaheim, Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, and San Jose) 11–10 in overtime in front of 11,511 fans at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. Legendary lacrosse superstars and twin brothers Paul and Gary Gait were reunited when Paul ended his retirement signing with the Colorado Mammoth. Paul Gait joined his brother, Mammoth captain Gary, for the remaining four games of the regular season and the team's playoff run. He made his Mammoth debut on April 1, 2005, at Minnesota and then returned to Denver for the team's final regular-season home game on April 2, 2005, against the Anaheim Storm at Pepsi Center. The 2005 Edge NLL Championship Game was played in front of an NLL record 19,432 fans at the Air Canada Centre in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada, and in front of a national network television audience in the US on NBC and in Canada on the Score. The Toronto Rock defeated the Arizona Sting 19–13, capturing their fifth title in seven seasons. Colin Doyle was named MVP of the game after leading the Rock with five goals and three assists. Legendary coach Les Bartley died after an 18-month battle with colon cancer. Bartley served as Head Coach and General Manager of the Toronto Rock between 1999 and 2003. He posted a 51–19 regular season record and 9–1 post-season record in five seasons. He also led the team to a 37–5 regular season home record in the same time. Bartley began his coaching career in 1991 and would go on to lead his teams to 11 Championship games, winning seven League Championships (four of those seven were with the Rock: back-to-back titles in 1999–2000 and 2002–2003). Prior to coming to Toronto, Bartley coached the Bandits to titles in 1992, 1993, and 1996. The NLL announced that the league would consist of 11 teams for the 2006 season adding expansion teams in Edmonton, Alberta, and Portland, Oregon. The league announced the establishment of the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame opened with five charter members who made immeasurable contributions to the league and the sport of lacrosse. The first five charter members awarded were league founders, Russ Cline and Chris Fritz; legendary lacrosse stars, Gary Gait and Paul Gait; and the late Les Bartley, the coach with the most wins in league history. The NLL and Reebok announced a multi-year exclusive partnership in which all NLL players would use Reebok equipment and would be exclusively outfitted in the brand's footwear and apparel. The partnership made the brand the official equipment, uniform, and footwear provider of the league. The agreement made Reebok the exclusive licensee of official NLL apparel including authentic and replica jerseys, caps, shirts, and additional clothing.


2006

The Edmonton Rush played their inaugural game and home opener in front of 11,385 fans at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The Rush lost 10–9 in overtime to the San Jose Stealth. The game was only the second time in league history that an expansion team forced overtime in their inaugural game. The 2006 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, home of the Toronto Rock. The West Division (Arizona Sting, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Portland LumberJax, and San Jose Stealth) defeated the East Division (Buffalo Bandits, Minnesota Swarm, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, and Toronto Rock) by a score of 14–13 in front of 15,924 fans. Calgary Roughnecks forward Lewis Ratcliff scored the game-winning goal with 4.4 seconds remaining. Ratcliff was named the Game MVP. The National Lacrosse League finished its 20th season by setting an all-time single season attendance mark, reaching a total of 1,037,147 fans for the 2006 season, including 88 regular-season games, six playoff games, the 2006 All-Star Game in Toronto, and the 2006 RBK NLL Championship Game presented by Edge Active Care. The league season average attendance was 10,804. The Colorado Mammoth defeated the Buffalo Bandits 16–9 in front of 16,104 fans at HSBC Arena in Buffalo to secure the first championship in Colorado Mammoth history. Mammoth forward Gavin Prout was named game MVP, scoring four goals and adding three assists for seven points in the win. The National Lacrosse League announced the awarding of a franchise to New York City for the 2007 season. The official announcement was made during a press conference at East River Park in Manhattan by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and National Lacrosse League Commissioner Jim Jennings. The New York team became the league's 13th franchise and would play its games at Madison Square Garden.


2007

The expansion New York Titans played their home opener at Madison Square Garden in the first ever professional lacrosse game at the "World's Most Famous Arena". The Titans defeated the expansion Chicago Shamrox 11–9 in front of 13,127 fans. The Eastern Division defeated the Western Division 20–16 in front of 12,856 fans at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, home of the Portland LumberJax, in the 2007 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game. Buffalo Bandits forward Mark Steenhuis was named the game's Most Valuable Player becoming the first player in NLL history to win two All-Star Game MVP honors. Steenhuis had previously won the award in 2004. The NLL reached a milestone as the league plays its 1,000th regular season game. The Minnesota Swarm hosted the Colorado Mammoth at Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis/St Paul in the historic game. The Mammoth beat the Swarm 11–9. The Rochester Knighthawks defeated the Arizona Sting, 13–11, in the 2007 NLL Championship presented by Edge Active Care at Jobing.com Arena. John Grant was named Championship Game MVP with a three-goal/five-assist performance. The victory marked the first time that Rochester had won the title since 1997. The NLL reached a new seven-year agreement with the players' union.


2008

The league announced the divisional alignments for the 2008 regular season. The expansion Boston franchise would join the Eastern Division, expanding to eight teams: Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Toronto. The Western Division composed of six teams remained unchanged: Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Portland, and San Jose. John Tavares broke Gary Gait's all-time goal scoring record. Tavares, who had already captured the all-time points and assists records, notched his record-breaking 597th career goal in the third quarter of Buffalo's 17–13 victory over New York. Philadelphia Forward Athan Iannucci broke Gary Gait's single season scoring record of 61 goals. He went on to finish the season with 71 goals. The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Portland LumberJax by the score of 14–13 in the 2008 Edge NLL Championship game at HSBC Arena. The event, which aired nationally on ESPN2, drew a sellout crowd of 18,690 fans. Mark Steenhuis captured the game's MVP honors with five goals and one assist.


2009

The league announced the addition of instant replay for officials to review disputed goals and crease violations during games. George Daniel was appointed Commissioner of the National Lacrosse League. Calgary won its second championship, defeating New York 12–10 in front of a crowd of 13,042 at Pengrowth Saddledome. Josh Sanderson was named Championship Game MVP, finishing with two goals and three assists.


2010

The Washington Stealth won its first championship, defeating the Toronto Rock 15–11 in front of a crowd of 8,609 at Comcast Arena. Lewis Ratcliff was named Championship Game MVP.


2011

The Toronto Rock won its record sixth championship, tying the Philadelphia Wings, by defeating the Washington Stealth 8–7 in front of a crowd of 8,609 at Air Canada Centre. Bob Watson was named Championship Game MVP.


2012

The Rochester Knighthawks won its third championship, defeating the Edmonton Rush 9–6 in front of a crowd of 9,277 at Blue Cross Arena. Cody Jamieson was named Championship Game MVP.


2013

The Rochester Knighthawks won its fourth championship, defeating the Washington Stealth 11–10 in front of a crowd of 5,200 at Langley Events Centre. Cody Jamieson was named Championship Game MVP.


2014

The Rochester Knighthawks won its fifth championship, defeating Calgary Roughnecks 2–1. Game 1 was a 7–11 victory for the Roughnecks in front of a crowd of 16,541 at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Knighthawks won game 2, 16–10, and clinched game 3, 3–2, in front of a crowd of 9,188 at Blue Cross Arena. Dan Dawson was named Championship Game MVP.


2015

The Edmonton Rush won its first championship, defeating the Toronto Rock 2–0. The Rush won game 1, 15–9 in front of a crowd of 9,257 at Air Canada Centre. Game 2 was an 11–10 victory in front of a crowd of 12,275 at Rexall Place. Mark Matthews was named Championship Game MVP.


2016

Nick Sakiewicz was appointed the 5th Commissioner of the National Lacrosse League. The Saskatchewan Rush won its second championship, defeating the Buffalo Bandits 2–0. Game 1 finished 11–9, in front of a crowd of 12,692 at First Niagara Center. Game 2 finished 11–10 in front of a crowd of 15,182 at SaskTel Centre. Aaron Bold was named Championship Game MVP.


2017

The Georgia Swarm won its first championship, defeating the Saskatchewan Rush 2–0. Game 1 was an 18–14 result in front of a crowd of 7,642 at Infinite Energy Arena. Game 2 finished 15–14 in front of a crowd of 14,264 at SaskTel Centre. Lyle Thompson was named Championship Game MVP.


2018


2019

The 2019 NLL season was delayed when the
Professional Lacrosse Players Association The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
went on strike shortly before training camp was to begin. On November 15, 2018, the league announced that a counter-proposal submitted by the Professional Lacrosse Players Association was rejected. This came after the league suspended their Wednesday, November 14 deadline to review the counter-proposal. Subsequently, the league announced that all games to be played in the first two weeks of the season (encompassing December 1 and 8 weekends) were cancele
NLL scraps first two weeks of the season – TSN.ca
On November 24, the NLL and the PLPA reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The first week of the season began on December 15 and the league announced each team will still play the standard 18 game schedule. The league kicked off its first game of the season on December 15, with the Wings returning to Philadelphia. The Wings fell to the visiting Buffalo Bandits, 17–15 On December 22, the San Diego Seals played their first ever game, upsetting the Colorado Mammoth at the Pepsi Center, 17–12.


2020

On September 13, 2018, the Rochester Knighthawks announced that they would re-locate to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...
for the 2020 season, as the NLL's fifth Canadian franchise. Pegula Sports and Entertainment was subsequently awarded a new expansion franchise in Rochester, which would also be known as the Rochester Knighthawks after acquiring rights to its name and branding. The original Knighthawks' records would remain with the Halifax-based team, which would become the
Halifax Thunderbirds The Halifax Thunderbirds are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise reloc ...
. In December 2018, another new expansion team in
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
, later named the New York Riptide, was announced for the 2020 season under the ownership of Gary Fuhrman, which would play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. After a fan vote, the new team was named the New York Riptide. On March 13, 2020, league play was indefinitely suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. On June 4, 2020, the league announced that the 2020 playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic. Even though there were scenarios to have a shortened playoff tournament, the league decided to focus on the 2021 season instead. In July 2020, a new expansion team was awarded to Fort Worth, Texas. Bill Cameron will be the majority owner while Greg Bibb will serve as managing partner of the team.


2021

On February 3, 2021, the 2021 season was canceled due to logistical issues and uncertainties, including new Canadian travel restrictions requiring hotel quarantine. The NLL stated that it planned to focus on the 2022 season instead.


2022

The 2022 season began on December 3, 2021 and ended with the Colorado Mammoth defeating the Buffalo Bandits on June 18, 2022. This was the inaugural season for the expansion team
Panther City Lacrosse Club The Panther City Lacrosse Club is a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They have played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas since their inaugural 2021–2022 season. History On July 22, 2020, the NLL awarded an expansion franch ...
, and the
Albany FireWolves The Albany FireWolves are a professional box lacrosse team based in Albany, New York. They are members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League that began play in the 2021-22 season at the MVP Arena. The team is owned by a group heade ...
who relocated from New England.


2023

The 2023 season is scheduled to begin on December 2, 2022, and ends with the NLL final in late spring of 2023. This is the inaugural season for the expansion team
Las Vegas Desert Dogs The Las Vegas Desert Dogs are a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. The team will play at Michelob Ultra Arena in Paradise, Nevada starting in the 2023 NLL season. History On June 21, 2021, the NLL awarded an expansion franchise ...
.


NLL Championship history


Commissioners


Expansion and relocation

In July 2007, the Vancouver Ravens were conditionally approved for a 2008 return; the conditions included selling at least 2,500 season tickets and finding a suitable arena lease by July 19, 2007. On July 16, 2007, the Vancouver Ravens announced an agreement with
Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment Canucks Sports & Entertainment, previously known as Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment, is a Canadian sports and entertainment company in Vancouver, British Columbia that owns and operates the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, the Vanc ...
to make GM Place (now Rogers Arena) the home venue of the Ravens, if they were able to meet the season ticket sales requirement. However, just a few days later, announced that the Ravens would not play in the 2008 season. Although a local tabloid made mention of a potential return in 2011 for the team, Commissioner Daniel announced that there would be no expansion in 2011. A number of cities and potential ownership groups have expressed interest in expansion franchises: After high attendance of over 20,000 fans at the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Halifax,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Jennings says that the league will "definitely consider expanding to Halifax, for sure." On June 17, 2009, the
San Jose Stealth The San Jose Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from 2004 until 2009. They played at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, which is also the home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and the ...
announced their relocation to Everett,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, north of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
, for the 2010 season. The newly renamed
Washington Stealth The Washington Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from the 2010 NLL season through the 2013 NLL season. They were based in Everett (part of the Seattle metropolitan ar ...
played their home games at the Comcast Arena at Everett. In their first season in Everett, the Stealth won the league title. On August 10, 2009, the New York Titans announced the team's move to
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, to become the
Orlando Titans The Orlando Titans were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League that played in the 2010 season. The Titans began as the New York Titans, and played for three seasons in New York before announcing the move to Orlando on August ...
. Commissioner George Daniel announced on March 31, 2010, that there would be no expansion for the 2011 season. In July 2010, the Orlando Titans announced that they would not participate in the 2011 season due to ownership restructuring. In late summer 2011, the
Boston Blazers The Boston Blazers were an indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers were based in Boston, Massachusetts, and began play in the 2009 NLL season. The team was owned by Tim Armstrong, the former President of Advertis ...
suspended operations for the 2012 season. However, as of May 31, 2012, GM and team president Doug Reffue stated that the Blazers ownership is in negotiations with a local New England group. With the intentions of either selling the team or entering into a partnership with this group, Reffue added that the Blazers could return for the 2014 season. On June 27, 2013, the Washington Stealth announced that they were relocating permanently to the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia, and would be renamed the
Vancouver Stealth The Vancouver Warriors are a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. The team moved from Everett, Washington, for the 2014 NLL season. History The Warriors are based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and play at Rogers Are ...
. The decision to relocate was made after the 2013 NLL Championship Game (which the Stealth earned the right to host) had to be moved, due to a scheduling conflict with Comcast Arena, from Everett to Langley, where it was played before a sold out crowd. On July 11, 2014 the Philadelphia Wings announced they would be relocating from Philadelphia after 28 years in the city. On August 5, the Wings announced they would be relocating to
Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...
and will play in the Mohegan Sun Arena. On May 29, 2015 the Minnesota Swarm announced they would be relocating to
Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United States Census Bureau estimated the ...
to become the
Georgia Swarm The Georgia Swarm are a box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League. They have been playing at the 13,000-seat Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia since their 2016 season. Originally formed as the 2002 expansion Montre ...
, and will play in the
Arena at Gwinnett Center The Gas South Arena (originally known as the Gwinnett Civic Center Arena, later known as The Arena at Gwinnett Center and Infinite Energy Arena) is an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia. It is located approximately northeast of Atlanta. The arena ...
. On July 20, 2015 the
Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 ...
announced they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to become the Saskatchewan Rush and play in the SaskTel Centre. In their first season in Saskatoon, the Rush won the league title. On August 30, 2017, the NLL announced a new franchise for San Diego to begin play in the 2018–19 schedule. The San Diego Seals are owned by Joseph Tsai. Two weeks later on September 14, the league announced an eleventh franchise also to begin play in 2018–19, the return of the league to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
which has been without a team since the
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...
moved to New England in the summer of 2014. The new Wings will be owned by
Comcast Spectacor Comcast Spectacor is a Philadelphia-based American sports and entertainment company. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, the P ...
though it is yet to be determined if the original history will belong to the new incarnation. On September 13, 2018, the NLL announced that the Rochester Knighthawks would re-locate to Halifax, Nova Scotia as the
Halifax Thunderbirds The Halifax Thunderbirds are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise reloc ...
, and that a new iteration of the Nighthawks would be established as an expansion franchise under the ownership of Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The Thunderbirds' owner Curt Styres sold the rights to the Knighthawks'
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
to Pegula. On December 11, 2018, the NLL announced a new expansion franchise in Long Island, New York, slated to play at the Nassau Coliseum. After a public vote, the team announced its branding as the New York Riptide in February 2019. On July 22, 2020, the league announced it would expand to
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...
for the 2021–22 season, playing its home games at Dickies Arena. This team became the
Panther City Lacrosse Club The Panther City Lacrosse Club is a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They have played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas since their inaugural 2021–2022 season. History On July 22, 2020, the NLL awarded an expansion franch ...
. On February 23, 2021, the league announced the relocation of the New England Black Wolves to Albany, New York beginning in the 2021–22 season. The
Albany FireWolves The Albany FireWolves are a professional box lacrosse team based in Albany, New York. They are members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League that began play in the 2021-22 season at the MVP Arena. The team is owned by a group heade ...
team will play at the
Times Union Center The MVP Arena (originally Knickerbocker Arena, and then the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacit ...
and were officially named the FireWolves on April 14, 2021 after an online naming contest was held.


Name changes

* Baltimore Thunder (1987–1999) → Pittsburgh CrosseFire (2000) → Washington Power (2001–2002) → Colorado Mammoth (2002–current) * New Jersey Saints (1987–1988) → New York Saints (1989–2003) → Inactive * New England Blazers (1989–1991) → Boston Blazers (1992–1997) → Inactive * Ontario Raiders (1998) → Toronto Rock (1999–current) * Syracuse Smash (1998–2000) → Ottawa Rebel (2000–2003) → Inactive (2003–2005) → Edmonton Rush (2005–2015) → Saskatchewan Rush (2015–current) * Albany Attack (1999–2003) → San Jose Stealth (2003–2009) → Washington Stealth (2009–2013) → Vancouver Stealth (2013–2018) → Vancouver Warriors (2018–current) * Columbus Landsharks (2001–2003) → Arizona Sting (2003–2007) → Inactive * Montreal Express (2002) → Inactive → Minnesota Swarm (2004–2015) → Georgia Swarm (2015–current) * New Jersey Storm (2002–2003) → Anaheim Storm (2003–2005) → Inactive * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) → New England Black Wolves (2014–2021) → Albany FireWolves (2021–current) * Rochester Knighthawks (1995–2019) → Halifax Thunderbirds (2019–current)


Professional Lacrosse Players' Association

The Professional Lacrosse Players' Association (PLPA) is the
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
of players in the NLL. The PLPA was founded in 1991 by Dave Succamore (a former
Detroit Turbos The Detroit Turbos were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1994. They were based in Detroit, Michigan. Led by Paul and Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacro ...
player), Peter Schmitz (a former
Boston Blazers The Boston Blazers were an indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers were based in Boston, Massachusetts, and began play in the 2009 NLL season. The team was owned by Tim Armstrong, the former President of Advertis ...
player and president) and four other players from other teams with assistance by labor attorney Ronald L. Jaros. The union was organized to assist with missed work pay for players who miss their regular jobs for games; expanded expense reimbursement; more opportunities for promotional pay on top of their regular game salaries; more time for rookies to assess their initial contracts; game compensation for practice players; free agency; a standard grievance and arbitration process for fines and suspensions. Before the PLPA was in place, injured players were responsible for paying their own medical bills.


Media coverage

In the early 2000s, CNN Sports Illustrated aired NLL games regularly. The NLL had had its All-Star Games and Championship games on NBC in 2005 and ESPN2 in 2006. In 2007, the NLL had a regularly scheduled "Game of the Week" on Versus. For the 2008 season, due to dispute between the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association and the NLL owners in completing the collective bargaining agreement, the "Game of the Week" on Versus was cancelled. Also in 2007, the NLL signed an agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio, who were the "Official Satellite Radio Partner". The pact included a "Game of the Week" as well as a weekly highlight show. For the 2011 season, the NLL returned to Versus, beginning with coverage of the 2011 All-Star Game, followed by 6 weekly games, and 2 playoff games, one of these being the championship game. In the 2012 season, the rights shifted to
CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known ...
, which carried a package of eight regular season games. In 2012, the NLL reached an agreement with the
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel The Lacrosse Network. All games were available on YouTube after the broadcast and most games were broadcast live. For the 2016 season, the league moved to Fox Sports' streaming platform
Fox Sports Go The Bally Sports app is the video streaming service of the former Fox Sports Networks, now Bally Sports regional sports networks. The app replaces Fox Sports Go (FSGO), the app of the former Fox Sports Networks. The service is available for custo ...
. Beginning with the 2016 division semifinals, the NLL introduced an in-house NLLTV service operated by NeuLion. In the 2017 season, the NLL reached a two-season deal with
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to stream a weekly game, as well as playoff games and the Champion's Cup, via the
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...
's live streaming features. A separate deal was reached with CBS Sports Digital to stream games on its subscription platform SportsLive. For the 2018–19 season, the league announced a broadcasting agreement with Turner Sports, under which its games would be streamed exclusively by B/R Live. For the 2021–22 season, the NLL reached a new media rights agreement with
ESPN Inc. ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity w ...
, under which all games would stream on ESPN+ in the United States, and at least 10 would air on an ESPN television channel. In Canada, the league also returned to TSN (which is minority-owned by ESPN) for the first time since 2016, airing a Saturday-night package focusing on its Canadian franchises, playoff games, and streaming of other games online for TSN subscribers. All other game broadcasts are produced in-house by the league, using a mix of on-site staff and remote production hubs (with Dome Productions, a joint venture between TSN's parent company Bell Media and rival Rogers Media, handling the hub for Canadian teams and any other game broadcast by TSN).


Video games

''Blast Lacrosse'', a video game based on the NLL, was released on May 23, 2001. Developed by
Sandbox Studios EA Digital Illusions CE AB (trade name: DICE) is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The company was founded in 1992 and has been a subsidiary of Electronic Arts since 2006. Its releases include the ''Battlefield'', ''Mirror's Edg ...
and published by Acclaim Entertainment, it was the first lacrosse video game and included all nine teams from the NLL's 15th season (2001). The game received a 6.1/10 score from '' IGN''s Chris Carle, who praised the gameplay and controls but criticized the graphics and animations of the players. On February 15, 2005, the NLL announced that Activision would produce a new video game. The game was slated to be released for the 2007 season. In an online chat held on NLL.com with commissioner Jim Jennings, it was noted that the game would be out in 2009, but the game was never released. On March 31, 2010, the NLL announced it had partnered with Crosse Studio and Triple B Games to develop ''NLL Lacrosse 2010'' presented by Reebok Lacrosse. The game was released exclusively on the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
as an Indie Game on April 23, 2010. Crosse Studio and Triple B Games developed ''Inside Lacrosse's College Lacrosse 2010'' in 2009 before approaching the NLL to license their next game. The NLL game won Kotaku's Indie Sports video game of the year for 2010.


Awards

* National Lacrosse League Weekly Awards * National Lacrosse League Monthly Awards *
MVP Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
*
Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
*
Les Bartley Award The Les Bartley Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League head coach of the year. The award was simply called the Head Coach of the Year award until 2004, when the award was renamed in honour of Les Bartley Les Bartley (March 11, 1 ...
(coach of the year) * GM of the Year Award * Executive of the Year Award *
Defensive Player of the Year Award Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding Defense (sports), defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for D ...
* Transition Player of the Year Award * Goaltender of the Year Award * Sportsmanship Award *
Tom Borrelli Award The Tom Borrelli Award is presented by the National Lacrosse League to the league's "Media Person of the Year". The award was originally awarded to the Writer of the Year, but "was changed to Media Person of the Year in 2011 to allow for a wider ran ...
(writer of the year)


See also

* Major Series Lacrosse, Senior A box league in Ontario, Canada * Western Lacrosse Association, Senior A box league in British Columbia, Canada * Interstate Box Lacrosse Association, semi-professional box league in the United States * Premier Lacrosse League, professional men's
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Fi ...
league in North America *
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...
, professional men's
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Fi ...
league in North America * United Women's Lacrosse League, a professional women's
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Fi ...
league in North America *
Women's Professional Lacrosse League The Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) was a women's lacrosse league in the United States. The league was formally composed of five teams: the Brave, Command, Fight, Fire, and Pride. The league announced on February 27, 2020, that it woul ...
, a professional women's
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Fi ...
league in North America * List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada *
Professional sports leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States include several major leagues as well as other professional and semi-professional leagues. Major leagues The major sports leagues tend to have the greatest fan interest, have national TV contracts, ...
*
List of National Lacrosse League venues This is a list of venues used by the National Lacrosse League, a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It has teams in Canada and in the United States. * Air Canada Centre * Amway Arena * Baltimore Arena * Ball Arena * Bel ...


Notes


References


External links


Official Website

Professional Lacrosse Players' Association official website
{{Top sport leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1987 Sports leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in Canada Professional sports leagues in the United States Multi-national professional sports leagues 1987 establishments in Pennsylvania