Feeling a little down without the NHL ?
The Little League That Could
CBC Sports Online | Feb. 9, 2005
Feeling a little disillusioned by the NHL lockout? Has the idea of an athlete making more money in a single game than you do in a year turned you off professional sports? The National Lacrosse League feels it can fill that void and ease your pain.
Lacrosse is still considered a niche sport in North America, but the NLL looks like it’s poised for a big growth spurt this year with hockey grounded to a standstill and a business plan that’s putting everything in order.
If you’ve never been to a lacrosse game before, you’re not alone. NLL commissioner Jim Jennings knows that his league represents some fans’ first exposure to lacrosse. He’s convinced the sport’s similarities will appeal to any hockey fan.
An average lacrosse game features a lot of hard hits, a few fights and – for those who bemoan the defensive hockey so prevalent in the NHL – plenty of goals.
That’s probably what most hockey fans wanted to see last year when they forked over $43.57 for a very cheap ticket to a Toronto Maple Leafs game.
Problem is, the Leafs or any other NHL hockey game rarely lived up to those expectations. An NLL team can’t guarantee a win – not like the Leafs can either -- but it basically ensures you’ll see those three elements in a game.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the Players’ Association should take a few notes on how the NLL has embraced rather than distanced their fans.
Not only are tickets affordable at an average of $19, but the NLL markets itself as a true working-man’s league. Lacrosse players are in this for the love of the game. This is their part-time job. From Monday to Friday, they are just like its fans, trying to make a living as teachers, firefighters or construction workers.
Colorado's Gary Gait is considered by many as the Wayne Gretzky of indoor lacrosse, but he makes the league maximum of $22,500. An average lacrosse player earns $14,000 a season.
“That’s the message you want to get out,” said Toronto Rock owner Brad Watters. “These are hard-working guys playing this game. That’s what really has been core to the marketing strategy over the past five years.”
The combination of an inexpensive night out and one less sport on the radar has translated into modest success so far for the NLL.
The league's season ticket base is up 20 per cent and it is averaging 10,205 fans per game this year.
But a sustained lockout will not help the league in the long run, warned NLL commissioner Jim Jennings.
Because all but one of the NLL's 10 teams plays in the same arenas as their NHL counterparts (a lot have the same owners), Jennings argues that lost hockey games are missed opportunities to cross promote lacrosse.
“I think at the beginning it helped get us more attention and get us to the front pages of the sports sections in a lot of those cities where normally if there was hockey, we would be on Page 2 or 3,” said Jennings.
“That’s been a benefit to us. But overall, it’s hurt us because we count on those hockey game to market our product.”
Since taking over as commissioner five years ago, Jennings has guided the league through a couple of rough spots to put it in position as a solid marketable entity on the professional sports landscape.
What was once a strictly northeastern sport has now spread across the continent, with franchises out west, in Colorado, San Jose, Anaheim, Calgary, and one down south in Arizona.
As many hockey fans know, the NHL's attempt to expand west and south hasn't been a total success, but Jennings feels confident his sport can sustain itself.
“If we have the right ownership group, I think this sport will sell in any city,” he said. “It’s not a big commitment; it’s only eight home games.”
He feels even more confident in the league’s future after signing a network television deal with NBC.
The American broadcaster will air the NLL all-star game and the Champion's Cup Final live this year. It will be the first time in history lacrosse will be shown on network television.
“I’ve said since Day 1 as commissioner, in order for us to break through to the American people here it’s going to take a network television deal to do that,” Jennings said. “Unlike other things you can do in other parts of the world, unless you’re on network television in the United States, you’re not seen as a credible sports property.”
Of course, NBC has experimented with airing different sports before. The XFL, a renegade football league established by WWE owner Vince McMahon, was an absolute failure, but there's quite a difference with the NLL.
The XFL hadn't even played a game when it signed a deal with the television network. After losing its contract with the NFL, NBC was desperate to show any kind of football.
The NLL, on the other hand, is an established league and already has a dedicated fan base. The American broadcaster knows the product and has seen games. Unlike the XFL, the NLL is not dependant on NBC for its future survival.
Lacrosse is still on the fringes of the professional sports landscape, but Jennings sees big things ahead for the league. Television was the first step. Next will be establishing another 12 to 16 franchises in NHL or NBA markets.
“Like hockey, the NBA or NFL and all these other sports, if you look at the history of those sports, every one of them started exactly the same way,” he said. “I think history repeats itself when it comes to that and we’ll become a full-time league.”
