Lacrosse leagues halt feud....

By Lindsay Kramer - Staff Writer - Syracuse Herald Journal - 7/23/1997

The two competing professional lacrosse leagues have decided that it’s better to develop their sport together than to perhaps damage it by staying apart.

The new National Lacrosse League and the 11-year-old Major Indoor Lacrosse League have reached an agreement to join forces starting in January 1998. A revamped National Lacrosse League will open with at least eight teams, including three owned by the founders of the MILL.

Each league maintained that it could have succeeded independently of the other. But the deal shifts their time and energy away from competing against each other and puts it toward better expansion and marketing of the sport.

Under the agreement, MILL president Russ Cline, CEO Chris Fritz and executive vice president Bruce Tucker will own NLL teams in Philadelphia, Hamilton and New York, respectively. The MILL will also bring its Washington/Baltimore franchise, although an owner still needs to be found.

NLL investors Howard Dolgon, Steve Donner and Frank DuRoss will own teams in Syracuse, Rochester and New England, respectively. Niagara Frontier Hockey, which owns the Buffalo Sabres, will also own an NLL team in Buffalo. Expansion to Miami, Tampa Bay, Montreal and Ottawa is possible this season or next.

Cline said the deal wasn’t a case of the MILL surrendering, even though the league gives up its name and power structure. He thinks the sport needs a fresh start and believes the preservation of familiar teams is more important than the name of the league.

“Everybody is a winner,” Cline said. “We have confidence in these guys (the NLL investors) and they have confidence in us. The thing that made this possible was not a situation of need. It was a situation of what is best financially and best for the interest of the sport.” The merger brings the strengths of both sides to bear on the sport as a whole. Among the benefits are:

Stability and continuity

The MILL has more than a decade of experience in running its league. Some of the NLL teams might keep their MILL nicknames, providing a link to the old league.

Increased sponsorship

Donner said the MILL is bringing national sponsorship deals that could be worth $500,000 to the new league.

A bigger footprint

The NLL had hoped to start with six to 10 teams. Now, it will debut with eight to 12. That will permit an expanded schedule and playoffs.

Fewer expansion risks

Donner said had the NLL started alone, it could have brought in some other cities that may be better off waiting a year to start. “We can center on taking the pressure off some of these markets,” he said. “It allows them to come in more prepared with a better chance of success.”

Better connections.

Dolgon, Donner and DuRoss all operate American Hockey League teams and have several pro sports contacts. Donner said his group has talked with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers about owning NLL teams in their markets.

The league’s television exposure is sure to be greater than that of the MILL. The MILL produced a weekly highlights package for ESPN. The NLL wants live game coverage, even if it has to buy air time. There are several more issues for the league to hammer out. It needs to negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement with its players, pick a commissioner and work out its schedule.