Lax Vegas: Seals set to host Mammoth in NLL’s first game in Las Vegas
The San Diego Seals will host the Colorado Mammoth for a game in Las Vegas in 2020. Could the NLL be testing the market for a future expansion franchise?
The NLL and San Diego Seals announced on November 7 that the Seals will host the Colorado Mammoth at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 1, 2020 in Las Vegas. This will be the first game in NLL history to be played in Las Vegas during what is traditionally the city’s biggest sports weekend of the year with Super Bowl Sunday being the following day.
“For 33 years, the National Lacrosse League has brought energy and excitement to millions of fans across North America. We are thrilled to collaborate with the San Diego Seals to create this incredible opportunity for their fans as well as the Colorado Mammoth fans to experience a unique and spectacular event,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “As we continue to expand our amazing product to fans across North America and around the world, we are always looking to our future, and are excited to be working with Seals owner Joe Tsai, Steve Govett, the Orleans Arena and all our partners to create this unique event in Las Vegas on the City’s biggest weekend of the year.”
“We’re honored to represent the National Lacrosse League for the first-ever game in Las Vegas, and to bring the Seals faithful on the road with us by providing complimentary hotels to many of our fans,” said Seals President Steve Govett.“The additional benefit of showcasing professional box lacrosse to a new audience is exciting. The atmosphere at Orleans Arena is going to be electric, and we look forward to exposing the sport to a brand-new fan base in an iconic city.”
The NLL has strategically targeted NHL markets during expansion in the past, finding success with franchises such as Buffalo, Calgary, Colorado and Toronto and expecting similar results from Vancouver and New York. The NHL recently added the Vegas Golden Knights as an expansion franchise in 2017 and the city of Las Vegas has proven they can be a profitable sports town. Could “Lax Vegas” be the next stop in NLL expansion?
Las Vegas was a possible destination for the NLL in the past back in 2015 when the Swarm moved from Minnesota. Las Vegas, along with Nashville, were both considered, but plans ultimately fell through and the Swarm moved to Georgia.
For now, NLL fans will get a taste of the fastest game on two feet this winter at Orleans Arena and the rest of us will continue to watch closely to see if a future Las Vegas NLL franchise is in the cards.
Hutton Jackson is a professional video editor, co-founder/host of Pro Lacrosse Talk and editor-in-chief of Lacrosse Playground. He is also an Emmy-winning associate producer with two major sports networks and oversees Lacrosse Playground's video content as the head coordinating producer. Hutton played four years of college lacrosse at DeSales University where his highest lacrosse accolade was being named to Inside Lacrosse's 2014 All-Name Team with current pros Challen Rogers, Deemer Class and Larken Kemp, an honor that didn't require stepping on the field. When he's not writing on lacrosse, he can usually be found diving around the crease in your local men's league and ranting about Baltimore and D.C. professional sports.
Predicting the PLL Protected Player Rosters (Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast #129)
byPro Lacrosse Talk
On this episode of the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast, Hutton Jackson and Adam Moore are joined by Lacrosse Playground contributor Brian Andrews. They discuss the Atlas cutting Scott Rodgers, Jeremy Thompson, Kyle Hartzell and Callum Robinson, the trade that sent Rob Pannell to the Redwoods and Chris Hogan, Dalton Crossan and Garrett Thul joining the PLL. They also discuss the retirement of Matt Danowski and Brett Schmidt, provide their predictions for the protected rosters particularly with Dillon Ward, Connor Fields, Paul Rabil, Joe Walters and Kyle Harrison, and theorize what it would take for Coach Sean Quirk to trade the top pick in the PLL Entry Draft and presumably the chance to draft Lyle Thompson.
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Pro Lacrosse Talk is the flagship lacrosse podcast of the Lacrosse Playground network covering all three professional lacrosse leagues (NLL, PLL, Athletes Unlimited). Each week throughout the season we’ll recap the games, provide analysis on the teams and feature exclusive postgame and off-the-field interviews with professional lacrosse players, coaches and executives. If you’re a fan of lacrosse podcasts like the Unbuckled Chinstrap, The Inside Feed, Lacrosse Classified or The Crease Dive, then give us a listen.