Major League Lacrosse (MLL), a new professional outdoor
lacrosse league, was announced this morning at the All Star
Cafe in Times Square. The league, which plans to field
eight teams, will feature an inaugural season running from
mid-June through early September, 2000, with a championship
game played around Labor Day weekend. MLL founders include
fitness guru Jake Steinfeld, SFX-subsidiary ISI President &
CEO Frank Vuono, Warrior Lacrosse equipment company CEO Dave
Morrow and Bay Shore Enterprises Chair Timothy Robertson.
Reebok is a charter sponsor of the new league. MLL will
adopt a single entity ownership model, with MLL maintaining
financial control and offering league-wide integrated
marketing programs in the start-up years (MLL).
CITIES IN MIND: Potential MLL markets include
Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Columbus (OH), Long Island,
Norfolk, Philadelphia, Providence, Rochester, Syracuse,
Washington, DC and Westchester (NY)/Fairfield (CT) counties.
Robertson said that MLL "has been in discussions with both
network and cable channels" concerning a TV deal, and that
MLL is "hopeful to have an announcement in the not too
distant future." Info on MLL can be found at www.
majorleaguelacrosse.com (MLL). Frank Vuono tells the
SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy Bernstein that startup costs
for the new league are "expected to be at least" $2M. Vuono
also says that the MLL "expects to attract crowds of close
to 10,000 fans per game during its inaugural season," but
concedes that "even getting 5,000 per game would be 'quite
an accomplishment'" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/24 issue).
