It’s just a fact that there is more interest in lacrosse in Baltimore then anywhere in the country. This is no criticism of any region but just the plain and simple truth. On a given weekend in Baltimore there can be as many as 6 games D1 and D3 –all well attended. Loyola, Johns Hopkins, Towson, UMBC, Goucher, and Stevenson. Throw in Maryland 35 miles away and Georgetown 40 miles away, Navy in Annapolis and you now have 7 D1 and 2 D3 schools. By the way each of these Universities have women’s squads that bring the potential total to 18 games. (Add in McDaniel –2 teams and College of Notre Dame –1 team. Now we are up to 21 games. I forgot to mention the high school powers in Baltimore. The Lacrosse museum is in Baltimore. The Lacrosse Hall of Fame is in Baltimore. Oh yea, Community Colleges in Baltimore have teams. The Bayhawks draw 10,000 per game in Annapolis.
Let’s talk about the poor attendance at the Quarterfinals in College Park. First of all College Park is not Baltimore. There were no Maryland teams there. Friday night 6,800 showed up on a cold night at Towson to watch Boys Latin vs Loyola. Sunday night 2300 showed up to watch Stevenson defeat Salisbury in Owings Mills. On Saturday the day of the quarters there were hundreds of club games where parents went to watch their kids.
This is what would happen should the Baltimore become the permanent venue.
#1 With proper non scheduling of youth and travel lacrosse games, Championship weekend would have the only lacrosse in town. My guess is that with a continuous season ticket base it would become a fixture of Baltimore sports like the Preakness. Guaranteed 25,000 base for each game every year.
#2 Add in the possibilty of one of the Maryland teams or Virginia being in the final four and the number climbs quickly. Throw in the possibility of Duke, or Carolina making it in and the region expands—4 1/2 hours from Durham and Chapel Hill.
#3 Now toss in the synergy of the Women’s tournament being in Towson and there is a crossover factor to further enhance the crowd.
#4 The activity in the Inner Harbor and the strong association of Under Armour with Lacrosse would again enhance the picture. Duke’s John Danowski told me that every lacrosse player feels like a rock Star in Baltimore even if they play for Duke. No fans in the nation know more about lacrosse then those in Baltimore.
#5 Until the game spreads to more schools in the Western part of the country , the tournament being held in say Denver or Dallas would be ridiculous.
Promote the game properly. Work with the local leagues to let kids in at special pricing. Make parking prices more reasonable. Don’t try to bury the Ravens with exorbitant fees so the ticket prices can be lower. . Maybe even tinker with the dates so the Championship game is played Sunday night at prime time. Pushing the semis back to Friday night or early. Saturday afternoon. Play the Women’s Championship game right before the Men’s . There are many ways to better promote the event. But it belongs in Baltimore.
Jose
Sell single game tickets.
· 11/12/2019
Mricklen
Am more interested in how you get to Durham in 4+ hours???
· 11/12/2019
freddy from boca
durham in 4 hours. he flys to durham and walks from the airport to campus.
· 11/12/2019