NLL’s New York Titans Lacrosse Moving to Orlando

Numerous sources are reporting that New York Titans are planning to move to Orlando, FL pending a vote by the National Lacrosse League‘s Board of Governors.

The Titans split time last season playing their home games in New York’s Madison Square Garden and in New Jersey’s Prudential Center.   The Manhattan-based box lacrosse team’s inability to draw fans made it very difficult to ink an agreement that would make financial sense for both the arena, and the team.

Casey Powell of the NY Titans

The Titans have some of the best players in the NLL, including former Syracuse All-American, Casey Powell, and NLL All-Star, Jarrett Park. Even with all the marketing efforts and fan-friendly events, they only averaged 4,692 fans per game – the second worst attendance in the league.

There was also talk of the team moving to Connecticut, New Jersey, or Long Island, but in the end they chose Orlando as the new destination. The deal still needs to be finalized, but at this point, it just seems to be a paperwork formality.

How will indoor pro lacrosse succeed in Florida? Orlando currently has just one pro sports team – the NBA’s Magic.  Lacrosse at the youth level has been growing at high rates in Florida recently, and there is limited lacrosse played at the college level in the area.

That seems to be a good formula for success in pro lacrosse, evident in the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse – the professional field league.   Denver has been leading the MLL in attendance since they were founded in 2006 as an expansion team, and currently hold the record of 21,952 attendees.