NALL, the New Indoor Pro League, Starting Small
The five-team league will hold a 15-round draft this weekend
by Laurel Pfahler | LaxMagazine.com
|
| Former Delaware standout and U.S.
indoor developmental team member Dan Deckelbaum is a member of the
NALL's Hershey Haymakers, one of five teams in the new indoor pro
league. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
The North American Lacrosse League is hoping smaller markets pay off big.
The new indoor professional league, set to open its first season Jan. 19, 2012, features five teams in the small- to mid-sized markets of Charlotte, N.C., Hershey, Pa., Lexington, Ky., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Jacksonville, Fla.
Smaller arenas mean less competition for entertainment, more intimacy for fans with a closer connection to the players, and more manageable budgets for team ownership -- a formula that NALL officials are confident will make the league a success.
"We look to strategically place our teams in markets we feel will support a professional lacrosse team and be a place American lacrosse players can have an outlet," NALL commissioner Tony Caruso said. "To me, that is a very good business model.
"Every team is strategically located for future growth of the league."
The five franchises already have been signing players from October's college draft but will fill most of their remaining roster spots this weekend with a 15-round national draft Saturday and Sunday in Richmond, Va. At least 80 percent of the 23-man rosters must be made up of American-born players.
Teams will play a 12-game regular season and a league championship will take place at the end of April.
NALL officials have said they do not want to compete with the already established nine-team National Lacrosse League, which runs during the same time, but rather they hope to supplement it. The new league is geared toward development of the American game, whereas the NLL features mostly Canadian players.
Caruso is confident his league will bring in quality players who are looking for a place to play lacrosse beyond college.
"Just from the college draft alone, we are very happy with the talent coming into the league," Caruso said. "We have some significant franchise players being signed, and we are looking for a good draft this weekend."
Franchise players already on board include U.S. indoor national team member and former Boston Blazer faceoff ace Ryan Hotaling, who signed with the Charlotte Copperheads, and U.S. developmental team member Dan Deckelbaum, a 2007 graduate of the University of Delaware, who signed with the Hershey Haymakers.
Brett Vickers, owner of the Jacksonville Bullies and a former employee of the NLL, said fans can expect a different breed of athlete when it comes to the NALL.
The league is targeting non-lacrosse fans by billing itself as family friendly and community oriented, and rules are in place to cut down on fighting without taking away from the aggressiveness of the game.
Vickers said players will be approachable off the field and fun to watch on the field.
"I've owned a hockey team, several basketball teams, an indoor football team, and my experience has been, through working with the NLL, is lacrosse players are really gentlemen and very fan friendly, open for signing autographs," said Vickers, whose resumé includes five years as NLL Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Of all the sports, they are probably most accessible. ... On the field, we'll have the best American lacrosse players from the field game playing in our league."
The Bullies, who signed first-round college pick Bobby Stockton out of Jacksonville University, already are building a good reputation in their community. They teamed up with Mental Health America in northeast Florida in an anti-bullying campaign, "Bullies Against Bullying," which rewards students for good behavior and reporting bullying by giving them free game tickets.
Vickers said kids so far have responded well to the Bullies' efforts.
"Kids don't necessarily respond as well to someone who is not an actor, a singer or an athlete," Vickers said. "It gives them the opportunity to bring in athletes -- maybe not as famous as other athletes but still it's an athlete -- and talk about not bullying. We think it's a perfect fit."
Each team is promoting itself in different ways.
"My expectations are to have good competition ... and have fans enjoy pro-level competition in markets that normally wouldn't see lacrosse." |
| -- Tony Caruso, NALL commissioner |
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks are trying to draw in college students by offering those with tickets transportation to games. Six colleges in the region are on board with the promotion, according to team owner Jim Jennings.
The Shamrocks have sold more than 2,000 season tickets so far and plan to make the season an enjoyable experience for the fans through giveaways and other in-game promotions.
"I would have been happy with 1,000, so I'm thrilled we have over 2,000, and we still have more than a month to go until Opening Night," said Jennings, the former commissioner of the NLL. "When you come to our game, you are going to get a full experience of not only lacrosse but entertainment."
Caruso said he has high expectations for the league's first season, and the NALL has potential to grow quickly.
"My expectations are to have good competition, to have all teams do well, and to start establishing some interesting rivalries among the teams," Caruso said. "And, (we want to) have the fans enjoy pro-level competition in markets that normally wouldn't see lacrosse."
The Kentucky Stickhorses and Jacksonville Bullies serve as the anchors for what eventually could become two divisions with the Charlotte Copperheads serving as the bridge, Caruso said.
The league already is in discussions with potential ownership groups for expansion after this season, and the addition of one team in 2013 is expected in the near future, according to Caruso. The goal is to expand nationwide over time.
Jennings said he believes the NALL's business model will help the league experience growth.
"Our budgets for each team are about $350,000, so from a business standpoint, we think we can survive because our budgets are so low," said Jennings, who noted the NLL budgets are in the millions of dollars. "We don't need to go into the big arenas at that point. We can stay in midsized markets and play in the 6,000- to 10,000-seat arenas and be successful."
According to the Sports Business Journal, players will make between $200 and $1,000 a week. In comparison, NLL players average about $18,000 a season.
"We think our business model and our economic model makes a lot of sense for teams to be healthy and players to have an opportunity to play and grow slowly," Vickers said.
