OILERS GROUP TAKES PASS ON NLL — FOR NOW
Lacrosse league begins ambitious plan for expansion into NHL and NBA markets
The National Lacrosse League, which just wrapped up a successful 2017 campaign, will be making more news this off-season by rolling out at least two, likely three, and possibly even four expansion franchises.
Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said they will all have National Hockey League and/or National Basketball Association ownership ties.
But Edmonton, which lost its NLL franchise to Saskatoon, won’t be one of them.
“They really wanted us to get in (on Phase 1 of expansion) but we had to tell them we’re not ready,” said Oilers Entertainment Group chair Bob Nicholson. “We do want to make it part of our business, but not yet.”
The NLL hasn’t added teams since 2007, and is taking a deliberate approach to expansion, seeking out NHL and NBA ownership groups because of their financial wherewithal, franchise management expertise and building access. The newest franchises will be announced this summer but won’t hit the floor until 2018-19.
“Gone are the days when NLL teams launched in four months,” said the commissioner. “You need 12 to 18 months lead time to do it right.”
A timeline for Phase 2 of expansion hasn’t been set, but it could happen as early as 2020, as the NLL is intent on bumping membership from the current nine franchises to 14 or 16 after this phased-in approach to expansion. Longer-term, Sakiewicz envisions a 30-team league.
He was disappointed not to see the Oilers in the pool of applicants this time but is optimistic that the two will be partners down the road.
“I love their arena. It’s just amazing,” said Sakiewicz. “Edmonton is a great lacrosse market, and we would love to have the natural rivalry out there between the Rush and a new team in Edmonton. And most importantly is that Bob and Stuart Ballantyne and the Edmonton Oilers organization are blue-chip, five-star owners. That’s what we want.”
Bruce Urban, who moved the Rush to Saskatoon after the team won the league championship in 2015, said he too would like to see the NLL back in Edmonton.
“Having spent so much time there, I know there is a solid, solid core of fans now. And with the Oilers organization running it, I think it could be a huge, huge success. I would love to see an Edmonton team,” said Urban. “I think it would make great sense.”
Sakiewicz said the league is in active conversations with parties from 36 cities and there are advanced discussions or negotiations with six groups. The interest level speaks to the positive direction the league is taking under Sakiewicz’s leadership. He came to the NLL from Major League Soccer and is keenly aware how important it is to ensure the long-term viability of each expansion franchise.
“We’re definitely not in a hurry,” said Sakiewicz. “The league for 30 years was in a hurry and admittedly made a lot of mistakes. We’re not in markets where we should be. I’ve said from the beginning we’re going to be very deliberate, very careful who we bring in. We are only interested in blue-chip owners, five-star operators.”
Urban laughs that he wouldn’t be able to get a franchise now. But Saskatchewan is among the strongest NLL franchises in terms of attendance, merchandising and performance. The Rush followed the 2015 title with another in 2016 and just lost the league championship to Georgia in a two-game sweep.
Calgary, Buffalo and Colorado join Saskatchewan as the marquee franchises. There are also teams in Toronto, Vancouver, New England and Rochester.
Sakiewicz said because the league hasn’t expanded in a decade, there is “a glut of talent” that will ensure expansion team rosters are full of quality players.
NLL teams currently play 18 regular season games, starting in January. However, the league will be moving to a 20- or 22-game regular season that starts in November or December.
“Not just because there will be more teams, but for sponsorship. We’ve had a great 12 months bringing on new sponsors,” said Sakiewicz. “They want to see a bigger activation window, bigger than the four or five months which has traditionally been the NLL season. They want to be activating in the fall, winter and spring.”
There are also scheduling concerns in some of the busier arenas, and the league wants to step away from having back-toback games on successive nights.
“They’re just very difficult on the players, they’re difficult on the fans. And so we need to broaden our schedule window to make schedule planning easier and better for our players and our fans.”