Rush in no hurry to leave Edmonton: Jamieson
A day after rumours of the Edmonton Rush relocating to Saskatoon flared up, Dave Jamieson stepped in to douse the flames.
Jamieson, the president of the National Lacrosse League team, said there was no need for Rush fans to be concerned that the franchise would be moving to Saskatoon or anywhere else.
“The report of the Rush entertaining, or at least having someone approach them from Saskatoon, is correct,” Jamieson said on Wednesday afternoon. “There was an expression of interest from a party in that city.
“Talking to (Rush owner) Bruce Urban, he remains committed to the city of Edmonton, the game of lacrosse and the team. He’s never wavered in his belief that this sport and his team could succeed here.”
A statement sent out by the Rush on Tuesday evening cited a disappointment in support as far as season ticket sales and corporate sponsorship.
“We’re incredibly grateful for what we’ve got,” said Jamieson. “We had about 1,600 seasonticket holders, which is strong. It’s not the best in the league, it’s not the worst, but we need more and our corporate sponsorship, we’re very lucky to have who we have, but again, we just need to grow those areas for our team to remain here for years to come.”
Urban brought the Rush into the NLL in 2006 and has lost money each season trying to make the team a fixture in the local sports landscape. Frustrated with the overall lack of success and, specifically, a failure to land a home playoff date — a feat the Rush missed by one game en route to a first-round playoff loss at Everett, Wash., last Saturday — Urban has looked at the Calgary Roughnecks’ success and wondered what’s missing in Edmonton, according to Jamieson
That led to Urban having conversations with a group from Saskatoon, though the conversation has been idle for a month.
“There was an expression of interest from outside and Bruce, as he should, he should at least be having the conversation,” Jamieson said. “He wouldn’t be doing his job as an owner if he didn’t at least take that call and have that cup of coffee and have that discussion, but he wants it to work (in Edmonton) and he looks down the road and sees what happens in Calgary and that franchise does a tremendous job.
“I was there this year to see a game that didn’t involve the Rush and there were 12,000 people in the place and it was a great experience. (Urban) sees that and goes, ‘Why can’t we do that here?’ And he should feel that way after eight years, to be honest with you. He’s earned that right.”
Frustrations aside, Jamieson said the Rush organization needs to work harder to continue to grow the game locally.
On the field, there are great pieces in place: Mark Matthews was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012 and is a lock for the league’s rookie of the year award after leading the Rush with 38 goals and finishing fifth in the NLL.
Matthews led all rookies in scoring with 69 points.
Kyle Rubisch was named the NLL’s defender of the year on Monday and chosen as the team MVP.
With young, talented players like Curtis Knight, Jeremy Thompson, Zack Greer and Aaron Bold, the home playoff date should be within the Rush’s grasp next season.
“Selling a ticket is not easy,” Jamieson said. “You look around at pro sports and the teams that are very successful and they have empty seats. It’s not a guarantee. There’s never a guarantee that … people are going to come.
“So we have to do a better job, I have to do a better job in that area. We’re eight years in, we’re not the new kids, we’re not the shiny toy, we’re not the gimmick marketing. We are a legitimate professional sports team that has to work hard to … attract an audience and keep it and attract corporate sponsors and keep them. It’s simply hard work. There aren’t magic bullets for this stuff.”
Jamieson stressed that the team was not at a make-orbreak point in terms of seat sales or corporate sponsorship. The organization just wants to build off of what it already has.
“I think … it’s very important to get a home playoff game. We said that coming into 2013 and that message will remain the same for 2014,” he said. “I think we’ve certainly kept our prices within reach and we’ve improved our game presentation, we’ve improved our team. I think when you deal with the basic elements that you can work on, we have to continue to improve. That sounds like a cliche, but we have to.”