As one travels further south in the USA, lacrosse seems to evaporate, giving way to the traditional sports of football and baseball. In Georgia, where land is prominent and people live far apart from one another in low-income areas a sport as expensive and time-sensitive as lacrosse can be even tougher to introduce and grow.
The big question that this article and other lacrosse followers point to is: How do we continue to grow the sport then?
I believe the answer to Georgia’s obstacles is the city of Atlanta.
Atlanta is its own cosmopolitan bubble within the historic state of Georgia. There, many liberal ideas blossom and businesses prosper. The city is already home to an NFL and MLB team. With thousands of northerners moving to Atlanta for work, this could be the best time to introduce the sport to Atlanta.
Many students graduating college in the north are finding job opportunities in Atlanta, such as AT&T’s program of bringing X amount of college graduates into their work force, one of the hubs being in Atlanta.
To make change in the world, all you need is motivation and recognition. I’m more than positive many living in Atlanta know of lacrosse, and the income in the city itself would be ideal for supporting the sport that has tons of equipment.
Atlanta is home to some beautiful parks and recreational facilities. These spots are ideal for players to grab their sticks and head to for a catch, or for a team to reserve a facility for practice, or for professional players to train.
Many southern colleges already have club lacrosse teams, ranging from guys just wanting to scrimmage to competitive teams of guys who played the sport in high school and want to continue at a college they chose to attend.
This is the perfect time to introduce lacrosse to the city and state.
First Point: The money.
Money to pay a team and its players would come from spectator support. The new Atlanta team would need to pull in around 3,000 spectators consistently per game to break even in costs. Equipment wouldn’t be a problem as most players bring their own. When it comes down to it, professional players could allocate a portion of their season salary to a team order of helmets and gloves.
Second Point: Home Field
The NFL Atlanta Falcons and MLB Atlanta Braves are currently planning with the city to relocate. They want to build new facilities in a suburban setting outside the city. The MLL could swoop in from a few sides here:
Take over one of the old stadiums
Build a small complex near the new ones for all sports-goers to see.
Make a deal with one of the teams building a new facility to share with them. Football would easiest as the field dimensions are similar and their seasons are opposite.
Third Point: Roster Members
There is currently a large influx of northern college graduates moving to Atlanta for work. Whether they are warm-weather-seekers or part of corporate initiatives to hire new, young labor more people are heading to Atlanta. Their recognition and consciousness of the game would make growing it that much better (as spectator support).
Team players could be gathered from this pool through some type of co-op the league or new team would set up with different corporations, or fly in on the weekends.
Fourth Point: Identity
Atlanta is a very liberal bubble compared with the rest of Georgia. Establishing a team identity would be made a bit easier in that respect. Industries such as logging and construction are huge in Georgia, and Home Depot (and possibly LOWE’S) headquarters are there.
Through a potential corporate partnership, there would be tons of names to go off of:
Georgia Lumbermen
Georgia Loggers
Georgia Confederates
Atlanta GreyJackets
Atlanta Kennesaws
Atlanta Tomahawks
