The Professional Box Lacrosse Association (PBLA) was a men's professional box lacrosse league in the United States. The league was announced on June 29, 2022,[2] with the first seven (of nine) team locations announced on July 19.[3] The league intended to focus on growing the sport in the United States, drawing players, coaches, and other personnel primarily from there.[2]

Full league operations were suspended just weeks into their first season. [4]

Teams

The league started out with a single-ownership structure, with all teams being league-operated. Nine teams were planned for the inaugural season. Names for each team were nominated and voted on by fans from the host cities.[5]

Team City Arena Capacity Founded
Binghamton Bombers Binghamton, New York Visions Veterans Memorial Arena 4,710 2022
Charlotte Bootleggers Charlotte, North Carolina Bojangles Coliseum 8,600 2022
Elmira Renegades Elmira, New York First Arena 3,784 2022
Hampton Hammerheads Hampton, Virginia Hampton Coliseum 10,147 2022
Jim Thorpe All-Americans Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania PPL Center (Allentown) 2022
New England Chowderheads Portland, Maine;
Lowell, Massachusetts 		Cross Insurance Arena;
Tsongas Center 		6,206
6,003 		2022
Salem Mayhem Salem, Virginia Salem Civic Center 6,820 2022
Syracuse Spark Syracuse, New York Upstate Medical University Arena 5,800 2022
Trenton Terror Trenton, New Jersey CURE Insurance Arena 7,605 2022

All teams whose names had been announced were decided by a name-the-team contest. The winners were announced on August, 14th, 2022. The Syracuse Spark were originally going to be called the "Sparkle Muffins" however due to the mouthful that this name would be it was shortened to Spark, the logo and mascot were still a spider.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Professional Box Lacrosse Association postpones remainder of inaugural season".
  2. ^ a b Raymon, Katie (June 29, 2022). "PBLA Announces New Professional Box Lacrosse League • PBLA".
  3. ^ "New League, PBLA, Announces Seven Cities Where It Intends to Play Starting This December | Inside Lacrosse".
  4. ^ "Sources: PBLA lacrosse season put on hold". January 31, 2023.
  5. ^ "New pro lacrosse league to include teams in Elmira and Binghamton. What you need to know". Star-Gazette.
  6. ^ "PBLA Announces Jim Thorpe, PA as 9th Team". October 22, 2022.

External links