PLL Looking At Variety Of Venue Sizes For Second Season

The Premier Lacrosse League is slightly changing its venue model next year, shifting from holding most of its events at major-league stadiums to having an even split with college/minor-league venues. The property last month wrapped up its first season, in which it held about 80% of its events at either MLS or NFL venues. It currently is planning its second campaign in conjunction with media-rights partner NBC Sports. PLL co-Founder Paul Rabil told THE DAILY via text message that while major-league venues are "aesthetically gorgeous, with maximum suite inventory, and are technologically advanced," the league and NBC also recognized that the smaller venues "enabled us to sell out the weekend, which created a fanatically energetic vibe." The league often brought in around 5,000-10,000 fans per game, which was enough to sell out several events at collegiate venues. However, those figures sometimes left a cavernous feeling at larger venues it played at. Rabil also said that the league saw similar net promoter scores -- with an average score of 72 -- whether they played at a large or small venue. As a result, the PLL is planning for more of an even 50-50 split next year.

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NBC PLEASED WITH YEAR 1: NBC Sports President of Programming Jon Miller said the net was "very happy" with the first season airing the PLL. He said, "The Rabil brothers came to us almost two years ago with this idea -- they had a real vision -- and they really followed up on it and executed it at a very high level." Miller said he was particularly pleased with innovation in the PLL such as putting mics in players' helmets so they could be interviewed in the middle of the game after plays. Miller said of the venue shift, "One of the areas we'll work with them on is venues going forward. I think they realized that some of these smaller venues and having a packed crowd is much better for everybody, including on TV, so we'll continue down that road."