YORKTON - The National Lacrosse League (NLL) recently announced the first planned expansion of its NLL UnBOXed™ grassroots program, adding 13 new North American markets joining the inaugural class of nine “NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Communities” unveiled last year.
The additions bring the League’s footprint – including the 14 NLL franchises – to 36 markets throughout the United States and Canada.
The announcement marked the first of three planned annual expansions into more non-franchise areas that will eventually see the NLL’s North American footprint grow to 60 total markets by the time lacrosse returns to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
The 13 new dedicated grassroots markets include Boston Wickies™, Chicago Shamrocks™, Columbus Redtails™, Indianapolis Checkers™, Los Angeles Ligers™, Miami Tormentas™, Nashville Drumsticks™, New Jersey Humpbacks™, Portland Undercutters™, and Providence Vampires™ in the U.S., and Edmonton Juice™, London Mounties™, and Québec City Harfangs™ in Canada.
The NLL formally launched the multi-tiered campaign in November 2023 with the introduction of the first nine NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Communities, brand names, and logos, an innovative first for pro sports leagues’ grassroots efforts: Baltimore Ghost Crabs™, Charlotte Cobras™, Dallas OilCats™, Minnesota Lake Dragons™, Montréal Castors™, Seattle Shipwrecks™, St. Louis Howlers™, Tampa Bay Snowbirds™ presented by Tampa General Hospital, and Utah Spikes™.
The list reads a bit like a wish list for NLL expansion as the league has long held the vision of one day reaching in the neighbourhood of 30 teams.
“It’s a component,” admitted Kurt Hunzeker, Executive V.P. of Commercial Operations with the NLL in a recent interview with Yorkton This Week. “But, I don’t think it’s a primary driver for us.”
Hunzeker said the initiative is primarily about the NLL taking the lead in promoting box lacrosse across both countries, “to really take the lead in growing it (box lacrosse).”
The approach is not unique. Hunzeker said the NLL recognized other leagues have initiated similar programs – NFL Flag and NHL Street.
NLL UnBOXed will follow a similar path with initially a very simple goal, “to get sticks in kids’ hands,” said Hunzeker.
In every NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Community, the League and the initiative’s founding partners – Powell Lacrosse and Castore – begin with a lacrosse equipment endowment outfitting elementary and middle schools with a full set of sticks, balls, and goals to begin play.
The League enlisted the help of NLL Hall of Famer Casey Powell to create the physical education curriculum based on his successful SPEED Lacrosse® game play.
School administrators, athletic directors, P.E. teachers, and parents can nominate their elementary or middle school to join NLL UnBOXed as early as the spring 2025 semester.
Hunzeker said the response has been huge with some 250 requests from schools coming in after the initial press release went out – one from Hawaii even.
Down the road Hunzeker said the league envisions having a package available to schools outside their selected cities – but how that might work is still to be determined.
“The dream of dreams is to have every elementary and middle school playing,” he said.
And after the game is established in schools – five in each community in year one and five more added each year of the program – Hunzeker hopes the game ripples out into the community “to continue to grow the game.”
Then there is the element of building an appetite for an NLL franchise one day.
“There is an eye toward building a fan base from the ground up,” said Hunzeker, adding the league certainly knows that have fans waiting for a team will ultimately help with NLL growth.
