The growth of lacrosse in Canada continued Wednesday as the National Lacrosse League (NLL) announced a team will be coming to Ottawa for the 2024-25 season.
The Ottawa Black Bears will take the place of the New York Riptide as their stay in Long Island, N.Y., comes to an end after six seasons.
The Black Bears will play their games out of the Canadian Tire Centre, just like their sister NHL team Ottawa Senators, as the current ownership group GF Sports and Entertainment joined forces with Senators Sports and Entertainment.
Ottawa will become the NLL’s second franchise in Ontario setting up a provincial rivalry with the Toronto Rock.
And they’ll be the sixth Canadian team in the league, joining Toronto Rock, the Halifax Thunderbirds, the Saskatchewan Rush, the Calgary Roughnecks and the Vancouver Warriors.
NLL Commissioner Brett Frood said he’s excited about the move to Ottawa for next season. He said Ottawa and the new partnership with Senators Sports and Entertainment provide opportunities for both the short and long term.
“Ottawa is an incredible market, with an established fan base, and a major-league arena,” he said. “This is an immense opportunity for our league to fortify our roots in the National Capital Region.”
Erik Baker of GF Sports and Entertainment said Ottawa made the most sense after a thorough vetting process.
“We chose Ottawa for many reasons, including the strength of the Senators Sports and Entertainment brand, the demand and rapid growth of box lacrosse in the region, and the fantastic arena,” he said.
Senators Sports and Entertainment CFO and COO Erin Crowe said the mix of a strong ownership group, solid broadcasting ties with TSN and the growth of the NLL makes the move a great addition to Ottawa sports.
She said the move offers another way to further engage with the Ottawa-Gatineau community.
“This will be an entertaining and exciting product that our fans will love and embrace,” Crowe said. “We can’t wait for the Black Bears to hit the field and take their place in our community.”
Lacrosse players in Canada, like Michael Holmes, see the decision to move to Ottawa as a great move for lacrosse in the country.
Holmes, a former USports lacrosse player for Laurentian University and current K-OS lacrosse player, told Humber News the Black Bears’ arrival creates another Canadian market for lacrosse to thrive in within the NLL.
He said it could potentially pave the way for potential expansion in other Canadian cities like Montreal in the long term, but in the short term grows the game in a strong market for the sport.
“Ottawa has a huge lacrosse community and many strong lacrosse organizations based in and around it,” he said. “It allows for players growing up in the markets to have pro lacrosse that they can watch locally.”
While the move grows the game in Canada, Holmes said the move away from a major sports market like New York is disappointing for the NLL.
“New York is such a big market and competition is high for fan support, but in my opinion, it’s a key market that the NLL should stay in to help continue to grow the game of lacrosse,” he said.
“I would rather have seen Ottawa join as an expansion team, that way everyone involved continues to grow and develop the sport of lacrosse,” he said.
The Ottawa Black Bears’ inaugural season begins in December 2024.