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Titans Optimistic About NLL's Future in Orlando
by Jeff Berlinicke | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Jordan Hall and the Titans make the move from New York to Orlando for the 2010 season. |
Jordan Hall has never been to Walt Disney World. He’s
never seen Space Mountain and he’s never slid down Summit
Plummet at Blizzard Beach.
He’s about to get his opportunity.
Hall, along with most of last year’s New York Titans, are
making the move to Orlando to become the first Florida team in the
National Lacrosse League. The Titans will enter a burgeoning
lacrosse market that has blossomed in recent years with expanding
prep programs and two varsity college teams, not to mention some of
the strongest college club programs in the country.
The Titans will play their games at the Amway Arena, home of the
NBA’s Orlando Magic. Hall has been to Orlando, he just
hasn’t met The Mouse.
“I’ve been to Islands of Adventure, but never to
Disney,” Hall said. “I might be the only person in the
country that hasn’t been to Disney, but I think I can make it
this year.”
That might be a good idea. Disney, along with the Magic, are
working hand-in-hand with the Titans to get ready for January when
the Titans will open their first NLL season in Florida. Hall said
that at least 50 percent of the New York Titans would make the move
to Central Florida. The Titans reached the NLL Champion’s Cup
last season before losing to the Calgary Roughnecks, 12-10. The
Titans played two home games at Madison Square Garden and five more
in Newark, N.J., but team president Steve Donner said he had been
eyeing Florida for the past several years. Attendance was dipping
in New York, and Donner said the Orlando market, with many less
teams, seemed to be a better fit for the NLL.
“This area is ripe for lacrosse,” Donner said.
“We know that this area can thrive, and there is so much
enthusiasm in Orlando that it was a perfect fit. We were looking
for a new market for the game, and I put together a cheat sheet
that had Florida all over it.”
The cheat sheet showed that Florida was a lacrosse boom state and
that the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning had been successful at the
box office. That led to Donner looking long and hard at Tampa as
the favorite for the next NLL franchise, until the Lightning
switched owners in 2008. Since then, the team has been involved in
a brutal court battle over team ownership. Donner decided to look
about 70 miles east on Interstate 4 at Orlando, where hockey
doesn’t offer competition for the dollar and the Magic sell
out every game.
“We looked at Tampa because we know if people like hockey
they will love lacrosse,” Donner said. “There were
other teams in our league looking at Tampa, so we jumped after it.
I thought things were in trouble after the problems with the
Lightning in Tampa, but I was told not to underestimate
Orlando.”
Orlando has committed to building a new arena (Amway Arena is the
smallest in the NBA), and Donner said the idea grew bigger as he
looked at the drawing power of the Central Florida market.
Hall, who led the University of Delaware to the NCAA semifinals in
2007, moved on to Rochester in 2008 and led the Rattlers to the NLL
title after a mid-season trade from Chicago.
“All I know is that they love lacrosse in Orlando, and if I
have to make a million flights from New York to Orlando, I
don’t mind,” Hall said. “This is a great way to
expand the game. Trust me, I plan to make it to Disney
World.”
