When it comes to the pro field world, there is nothing generating more buzz than the newly established Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). We’re giving an analysis of the PLL attendance projections by venue. So sit tight and enjoy.
Announced back in the fall, the PLL is going to be a touring model, bringing all six of its teams to a new city each week. And with the elimination of the pro overlap with the NLL, it also means that the first pro games will not take place until after the NCAA season is completely done.
The list of cities being checked off are nearly every major media market and lacrosse hotbed you can think of. An important qualifier to that is while it may not be IN the exact location you consider a hotbed, it’s near.
Founder Paul Rabil has repeatedly said that an event-driven model like this is heavily reliant on regional fans. They expect a much larger radius for the distance from which fans will travel to for a one time event compared to a full slate of home games that a traditional league would offer.
So let’s take a look at every city and every venue that the PLL will be visiting for its inaugural season with a brief look into their lacrosse history and expectations.
PLL Attendance Projections
Week 1 – Boston | June 1-2
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/boston
Capacity: 66,829
Previously in terms of lacrosse games, Gillette has hosted Championship Weekends, NCAA Quarterfinals, the NCAA regular season, youth events, practices and MLL games. They’ve really done it all and it has become one of those iconic venues in the lacrosse world. It was assumed they would wind up here.
It’s a great location to start at. In terms of expectations, a quick comparison to the Cannons’ draw while they were in Gillette for a season is reasonable.
Back in 2015, the Cannons were relocated here for a summer, and drew an average of 6,061 fans per game, ranging from 3,612 to 10,142 for this exact weekend (May 30th). There is definitely some major potential here and it’s a great launch pad.
PLL Attendance Projection: Great
Week 2 – New York | June 8-9
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/new-york
Capacity: 25,000
Red Bull Arena is the location that this league was made for. It hasn’t hosted a major lacrosse event before, but Metlife stadium, which is 15 minutes up the road has. The Big City Classic was hosted there from 2009-2012 featuring some of the top NCAA teams. These events were pulling over 25,000 fans for the past three years, so there is enormous upside to hosting a game in a smaller venue like this. It’s located within a reasonable driving distances from Southern Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey. All three areas are major hotbeds. I don’t think you need a sell-out to call this venue a success. Even halfway filled, this could be a great look.
PLL Attendance Projection: Really great
Week 3 – Chicago | June 15-16
Venue: Seat Geek Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/chicago
Capacity: 28,000
Seat Geek was actually the host venue for the MLL’s Chicago Machine back in the day, but their gate numbers were not great (kind of why they became a nomadic team in their own right in 2010). In 2006, they averaged 2,202, then 2,243 in 2007, 2,186 in 2008, and 2,500 in 2009. Those consistently low numbers turned Chicago into the travel team for 2010 that became the new Rochester Rattlers in 2011. The PLL should, and dare I say will, certainly do better with a one-time event here.
PLL Attendance Projection: Respectable
Week 4 – Baltimore | June 22-23
Venue: Homewood Field
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/baltimore
Capacity: 8,500
This is one of the few events where we just need to call it a sellout now. Even aside from the idea that it’s the Paul Rabil league BEING PLAYED AT HOPKINS, you also have a history of big events like one of the greatest lacrosse gold medal games ever played also taking place here. It’s a summer weekend in Baltimore with a massive event. This is a can’t miss.
PLL Attendance Projection: Really Great
Week 5 – Atlanta | June 28-29
Venue: Georgia State Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/atlanta
Capacity: 24,333
Now here’s an interesting one! Georgia State Stadium is right in metro Atlanta, a big switch from the more suburban Kennesaw which has hosted nearly all of the “Atlanta” lacrosse events you can think of. It’s also why I won’t compare attendance numbers between the two. It’s a big enough locale switch that I think it needs to be handled on its own.
It’s worth mentioning that the Atlanta Blaze are also moving from Kennesaw this season. This stadium used to host the Atlanta Braves and was originally made for the Olympics, so it’s definitely set up for big games. More recently, they played host to the Atlanta Legends of the AAF (RIP), which pulled in about 11,000 for every game. That’s event-style football in Georgia, so undershooting that mark a bit would be more realistic.
PLL Attendance Projection: Decent
Week 6 – Washington DC | July 6-7
Venue: Audi Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/dc
Capacity: 20,000
Like Red Bull Arena, Audi Stadium is made for this league. Located right smack dab in the middle of the DMV where you have metro DC, southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia, this is hotbed supreme. College Park, MD is just a thirty minute drive north, so the hopefully the heavy concentration of former ‘Terps will draw some fans down. This is another spot with enormous potential.
PLL Attendance Projection: Really great
Week 7 – Los Angeles | July 21 (All Star Game)
Venue: Banc of California Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/la
Capacity: 22,000
I have lower expectation for the total volume here, but this is the “home” game for the PLL. They have their headquarters in LA, which also means they probably have the best ground game in terms of getting in front of every group possible to drum up ticket sales. LA is obviously not a lacrosse hotbed. It’s also located about 15 minutes from where the LA Riptide used to play. In their day, the Riptide would bring in 3,000-4,000 per game. Something in the 6,000-10,000 range seems like a good draw for year one. Having the All-Star game here should also help boost attendance.
PLL Attendance Projection: Respectable
Week 8 – Denver | July 27-28
Venue: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 18,000
This was the host location for the 2014 World Games, which definitely will bring back mixed emotions for some players. For the Canadian crowd, this is a wonderful place. For the US alums, not so much. But beyond that, you’re going to get a great crowd. Denver is the strongest fan base besides the East Coast. They should respond well, especially with no Outlaws game in town. Attendance-wise, there is sell-out potential here, but I think a strong showing of 10,000 plus is not only reasonable, but should be expected.
PLL Attendance Projection: Really great
Week 9 – San Jose | August 24-25
Venue: Avaya Stadium
Tickets: https://www.premierlacrosseleague.com/san-jose-tickets
Capacity: 18,000
San Jose is also another location that does have some pro lacrosse history. The San Francisco Dragons called San Jose home for the 2008 season and played at Spartan Stadium, averaging 2,800 fans. Avaya is not Spartan Stadium, though. Avaya is only a few years old and is home to an MLS team. The size is just right and they have hosted several non-MLS events which regularly pull in 10,000 plus fans. This is just another one of those ideal venues for a league like the PLL.
PLL Attendance Projection: Good
Week 10 – Hamilton | August 24-25
Venue: Tim Hortons Field
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 23,218
Of all the locations, this one worries me the most. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. Hamilton was selected because it splits the difference between Toronto and Buffalo, two major hotbeds. Even though the Canadian Lacrosse Association world is in summer ball indoors, there has been a big uptick in field participation. The Buffalo area also churns out great lacrosse players regularly. But Hamilton is the same place where you had Quint Kessenich calling MLL games and saying on-air that they needed to move the team out of there because of how terrible attendance was. So yes, I’m nervous, but there is still real potential here.
PLL Attendance Projection: Questionable
Week 11 – Albany | August 24-25
Venue: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 8,500
This stop in Albany definitely made me pause. Of all the locations along the New York State Thruway, this seemed like the least likely. But with Buffalo canceled out for Hamilton, and the low crowds in Rochester, really only Syracuse and Albany were left. I do think an event in the Carrier Dome could have been great, but summertime in the Dome has its own logistical problems. With Albany, there is some history here and potential. The Chicago Machine stopped here in 2010, pulling in 2,000 fans before Albany had the team it does now. Most seasons, the crowd sits around 2,000 still as an average for the season. That is even when PLL stars like Ty Thompson and Connor Fields were undergrads. But, the PLL isn’t going for a season, they want one big event. For single games, Albany has had crowds of 4,800 twice, and even hit 6,472 when UNC was in town in 2017. Numbers like that in a lower cost venue could be a great weekend for the PLL.
PLL Attendance Projection: Respectable
Week 12 – Columbus | September 6-7 | Playoffs: First round
Venue: MAPFRE Stadium
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 19,968
Columbus should be able to being in a decent crowd. It’s a growing lacrosse community and while you can’t use the Ohio State spring football game numbers to estimate attendance, you can look to a few other events. Back in 2010, the roaming Chicago Machine actually called this home for a single game and had 3,018 fans. It’s also not far from where the Ohio Machine had called home and averaged 2,600 fans last season. Those are both better than what the Buckeyes usually draw game-to-game on the OSU campus (1,500). This is also a great litmus test for the PLL business model. Can the single event model pull in a significantly higher number of fans in a market where there is no active MLL team, but has an existing fan base to pull from? Adding in the playoff implications, the possibilities are high. It’s also worth noting that Ohio State has a home football game on the seventh. Fans will be in town on the September 6 — a Friday — looking for a party.
PLL Attendance Projection: Good/Great
Week 13 – New York | September 14 | Playoffs: Semifinals
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 25,000
The PLL returns to Red Bull again in September, but will have a playoff atmosphere this time around. If things go well for the league, this is going to be a great place to capitalize on any momentum they have. Seriously. Can you imagine if they hit those Big City Classic numbers here? It’d be a sold-out totally electric atmosphere.
PLL Attendance Projection: Off the charts
Week 14 – Philadelphia September 21 Playoffs: Finals
Venue: Talen Energy Stadium
Tickets: TBD
Capacity: 18,500
This venue (albeit under a different name) has hosted plenty of lacrosse in its day. It has done both MLL and NCAA games, but has had more success for the NCAA. When the MLL was hosting their championship game in 2013, they had 3,892 fans there. This was the lowest the league ever saw. Compare that to the 2015 ACC Title game between Syracuse and Duke that had 7,348 fans. If the PLL can squeeze even a little of that NCAA Championship Weekend magic we saw in Philly this past weekend with over 30,000 fans in attendance, this atmosphere could be electric.
PLL Attendance Projection: Great
So there you have it. All 14 weeks, all 13 venues. The PLL is absolutely going to show what they’re made of this season and they have some of the best venues in the country to do it. Some have been tried before and others have not. As they move through their schedule, seeing how they draw game to game city to city is something that the whole lacrosse world will be watching. A great season one could mean some fantastic things for the sport everywhere.
