The MLL, a new professional outdoor lacrosse league set
to begin in June 2000, "appears to be trying to get quick
credibility with players by attacking the venture with an
open checkbook," according to Lindsay Kramer of the SYRACUSE
POST-STANDARD. Organizers said that the league will pay
players between $15,000 and $25,000 per season. Meanwhile,
the indoor NLL has a salary scale "ranging from" $300 to
$1,000 per game for a 12-game season. NLL Syracuse Smash
Owner Howard Dolgon: "It will be a difficult road (for the
MLL)." Smash player Todd Oudemool, on the MLL's projected
salaries for players: "My initial reaction is to say I don't
know how viable that is." Kramer writes that Syracuse has a
"a very good" chance of also landing an MLL franchise
(SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD, 5/25). AD AGE's Wayne Friedman:
"Bringing lacrosse into the sports mainstream will be a
stretch. The league's viability will be contingent on the
visibility a TV partner would bring." Pilson Communications
President Neil Pilson: "TV time is hard to get. But [the
backing of SFX Entertainment] gives them a good head start.
If you can cover your costs with spectator revenue and
sponsorships, you are ahead of the game for a start-up
league." Reebok is a MLL sponsor and company VP & CMO Angel
Martinez said, "Lacrosse could be another hockey -- it could
be bigger than hockey" (AD AGE, 5/24 issue).
