Possibly the biggest lacrosse news of the year to this point was yesterday when Major League Lacrosse partnered with the LXM Pro Tour. This is one of the first times we have ever seen two lacrosse leagues team up to work together for the good of the game, something that MLL wants to do.
“We’ve made the industry aware that we want to work with everyone to unite the sport,” MLL commissioner David Gross told us. “Lacrosse is too small a sport to be fragmented.”
It is that kind of mentality that the sport of lacrosse has historically lacked, and MLL taking this approach shows their commitment to the overall growth of the game. LXM Pro Tour has had some terrific players in the past two seasons, players that could have played at the MLL level. Now, they will have the opportunity to play both.
“LXM events will still be their events,” said Gross. “MLL players now have the opportunity to participate in the LXM events, which will give some players the opportunity to play year round. We’ll work with the folks at Adrenaline on selecting sites for the events.
“MLL players now have the option to take part in LXM events as they will all take place during the MLL offseason.”
Currently, MLL and LXM Pro are the only professional field lacrosse leagues in North America. Uniting them creates an overall market that reaches the entire continent. LXM Pro has historically toured mostly on the west coast in places like San Diego and Utah, markets that MLL is not in. Gross touched on that a bit in saying that they will work on sites for the LXM Pro events, which creates the idea that they could even be used as test sites for new MLL cities as they expand.
“I’ve never liked the term competing as our objectives have been different,” said Gross, when asked about LXM being a competing league. “As stated before I think the entire sport needs to find ways to work together for the common good.”
The league has made several announcements in the past few days partnering with several lacrosse companies as they continue to grow. Gross said while they can’t leak incoming announcements, to watch for more news from the league in the coming weeks.
Major League Lacrosse has a terrific approach to growing the sport, and now with LXM on board, things can only get better. “Every step that various groups the sport can take to work together will only help lacrosse get bigger.”
