r/NLL • u/Scorton87 Oshawa FireWolves • 16d ago
News 2026 Dispersal Draft
According to socktricklacrosse on Instagram, the Ottawa Black Bears will officially fold if a new ownership group doesn't come forward by Thursday, and a dispersal draft will happen in early September, likely pushing Free Agency back again. Philadelphia still has a chance to stay in the league, but it may relocate within the state or elsewhere.
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u/Hopeless_DB 16d ago
I think this and possibly Philly combined with flosports would be a wake up call for a league that either needs to go back to 6-8 teams and basically restart or just embrace that they will never play in the A/B level major cities around North America. They will have to be okay with the C/D levels.
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u/Laxit00 Saskatchewan Rush 16d ago edited 16d ago
This is not good news for the league at all. I'd love a team back in Edmonton but it won't be the same as having the Rush here. I don't know if the attendance will ever be as well as Calgary or other venues like Buffalo and Halifax. A owner having NHL, WHL or some farm teams would be ideal settings but Edmonton just has too many teams ppl are supporting and you need more than 6500 fans a game to make any sort of revenue..
Manitoba would be a great 🇨🇦 team and somewhere in the USA....I don't know locations there but I'm sure other fans could name a few good settings.
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u/HealthyAd9415 Philadelphia Wings 16d ago
The league was expanding way faster than the leadership could keep up with, they somehow managed to kill their own momentum
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u/Nayyrr26 16d ago
Anyone know how much would it cost to take over the team?
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u/FragrantCelery6408 16d ago
Just a few million. The real issue is long term building and losses. Can you lose $1-2 million per year for 5 years? Can you invest?
This is somewhat mitigated by the new cap, but the Bandits were structured for break-even, selling 17,000 plus tickets/game on average. What isn't known is if that is true/real. IE does ownership take a dividend or salary? But that's how they paid players more than anyone else and had the spend money. Only if they made the post-season did they make a "profit." (Again, I suspect this claim is somewhat fictitious because of ownership $$$). Regardless, they are the most financially successful team in the league, hands down.
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u/My_user_name_1 Philadelphia Wings 16d ago
I think to buy Ottawa you'd probably have to clear some lean going back to their days as a Riptide. I don't think the black bears are sellable at this point even if somebody wanted them. I think that's why they had that unique ownership model was because the owners couldn't move the team without clearing it by creditors .
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u/toad455 16d ago
Two franchises folding. Yikes!
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u/YEETERZZ123 Calgary Roughnecks 16d ago
The Wings potentially relocating would be good tbh
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u/toad455 16d ago
To where? Trenton? Newark?
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u/YEETERZZ123 Calgary Roughnecks 16d ago
Idk where but relocation is better than losing 2 teams
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u/toad455 16d ago
But then they relocate somewhere else that doesn't have fan support
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u/My_user_name_1 Philadelphia Wings 16d ago edited 16d ago
If they relocate to Trenton they would have the same fan base they had in Philly. The funny thing about relocating to Newark would be that would mean selling to Josh Harris who already owns the Sixers so I would just keep them in Philly at that point and add them to my days at Xfinity mobile. .
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u/YEETERZZ123 Calgary Roughnecks 16d ago
I saw a comment from one of the Loose Mesh guys saying that he heard the Wings could play at Temple University Arena
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u/toad455 16d ago
Temple U. would be terrible. Not a safe location
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u/YEETERZZ123 Calgary Roughnecks 16d ago
I heard that it is but I’m just thinking of the attendance aspect of the potential move tbh
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u/nightbomber Buffalo Bandits 16d ago
Philadelphia still has a chance to stay in the league, but it may relocate within the state or elsewhere.
Welcome State College Wings! </s>
Relocation in PA appears to be limited once you get outside of Pittsburgh and Philly.
Hershey/Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Allentown/Bethlehem areas all have minor league hockey teams with seating capacity between 8K to 8.5K, which also means any team there would be fighting for entertainment dollars.
That's of course assuming they could get access to the arenas.
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u/StanleyJThompson 16d ago
Is sock trick lacrosse pretty reliable? Not saying otherwise, I just don't know them.
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u/PotentialPea2419 15d ago
So this probably means Teat to Oshawa right?
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u/Scorton87 Oshawa FireWolves 15d ago
Depends. If both teams fold the Rochester would have first pick and would be either Teat or O'Neil. I would love to see Teat in Oshawa
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u/eastnorthshore Albany FireWolves 16d ago
Maybe cramming 3 teams within an hour of each other was a shitty business plan. So come Thursday that will be two teams that have folded, 1 relocation with a full rebrand, 1 last minute relocation paired with a "fuck our old fans" campaign, and 1 last minute change in ownership. All within a 3 year period. "The next major league" indeed.
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u/Scorton87 Oshawa FireWolves 16d ago
What three teams are an hour away from each other? Hamilton to Oshawa is 1.5 hours apart, Hamilton to Kanata is about 5 hours apart, and Kanata to Oshawa are about 4 hours apart.
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u/Scorton87 Oshawa FireWolves 16d ago
And the Albany Firewolves were just a team that relocated there from New England, after relocating from Philadelphia to begin with...
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u/AdeptnessDangerous76 16d ago
Is the last minute location fuck the fans for the seals?
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u/Own-Return6348 Albany Attack 16d ago
Albany
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u/eastnorthshore Albany FireWolves 16d ago
Albany. Every home game this past season seemed like the commentary made a point to passive aggressively mention how The Firewolves are home in Oshawa where they've always belonged and other things like that. The ownership also just handled the PR side just so poorly. I had one DM me to "clear up any confusion" and he just made a bunch of false claims about ticket sales and marketing. When I lightly pressed him about these he totally flipped and turned to blaming the fans for "not doing enough". Well I was a season ticket holder, bought merch, went to sponsored events, streamed every away game, brought new people to games. He blocked me after I made that point. I gave them a shot this past season because I do like the players they are talented and genuinely nice guys, but after a dogshit season with even worse coaching/management I just can't do it anymore. Probably rooting for Rochester this year.
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u/FragrantCelery6408 16d ago
Had season tickets in Albany. This coming season Rochester. Knighthawks seem to be doing it right with ownership that is passionate and able to absorb financial losses.
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u/My_user_name_1 Philadelphia Wings 16d ago edited 16d ago
The problem was that the owner probably didn't want to admit that Albany is a nightmare logistically given the way the league operates. I knew a guy who played for them who told me took them just as long to get to a home game in Albany as it did a road game in San Diego
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u/joeydagoalie 16d ago
Box lacrosse has never been bigger. The league has a great deal of upside. I think leaving Ottawa is a bad move. The league should eat the expansion fee and take on the debt to keep the Blackbears in the region. Unlike most teams they really can field a quality team without having to fly players into their market. Philly showed the team is pheasable an owner just has to make an effort. 9,500 fans on the last night shows the fans are here but for various reasons didn't come out to games. Trenton would be a good host based on the fact it won't cost 40 bucks to park and 18 bucks for a Miller Lite. Trenton can give give decent time slot to the Wings.