Major League Lacrosse Wild West Tour Returns to Seattle

[Sonny]

SEATTLE, WA and Boston, MA (February 1, 2005) – Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced today its second joint event with Qwest Field, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. For the second consecutive year, as part of the MLL's Wild West Tour, the joint event will bring the world's best outdoor lacrosse players to Seattle, Washington, featuring National Division rivals, the Baltimore Bayhawks and the New Jersey Pride, at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, May 28, 2005. Tickets are on sale now and are available at all Ticketmaster locations, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are affordably priced at $15.00 for VIP Meet and Greet, $15.00 for Reserved Seating, and $10.00 for General Admission. The MLL's Wild West Tour returns to Seattle after a successful appearance in 2004. The Baltimore Bayhawks and Rochester Rattlers drew 9,136 fans for their May 22, 2004 contest at Qwest Field.

"Interest in lacrosse in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest is growing rapidly, and we wanted to bring professional outdoor lacrosse back to Seattle," said Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Seattle Seahawks and First and Goal Inc. "We are thrilled to host this exciting MLL match-up and look forward to a great day of lacrosse at Qwest Field."

"The first time Major League Lacrosse brought the best lacrosse players in the world to Seattle in 2004, the response was awesome," said MLL Founder Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global. "Tod Leiweke and his team at the Seattle Seahawks are first class professional sports operators and marketers, the kind of people we want to partner with for a long, long time. We're looking forward to partnering with Tod to bring the MLL back to an outstanding venue like Qwest Field. It's going to be another phenomenal event!"

In addition to the MLL game, the Washington Chapter of US Lacrosse and Qwest Field will feature the 2005 Washington State Lacrosse Championships earlier in the day. These state championship games will showcase boys and girls youth and high school lacrosse state championships and will be played throughout the day beginning at 8 a.m. and ending with the high school state championship game, concluding at 5:30 p.m.

"We are thrilled to return to Seattle and to partner with the Seattle Seahawks once again," said Gross. "The game we played at Qwest Field in 2004 was a huge success for Major League Lacrosse. We are excited to be working with Tod Leiweke and his group. Together, we will put together another outstanding day of lacrosse for the people of the greater Seattle area. The atmosphere will be that of a lacrosse festival, concluding with the best lacrosse players in the world showcasing their talents in a fantastic sporting event."

The Wild West Tour is part of "Project West Coast", the MLL's exploratory expansion initiative, and plans to match the nationwide growth of Major League Lacrosse by adding a West Coast Division of at least four new teams by the start of the 2006 season. Markets under consideration include Austin, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix/Tucson, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco/San Jose, Sacramento and Seattle.

In 2004, the Baltimore Bayhawks beat the Rochester Rattlers, 24-18, at Qwest Field in the season opener for both teams. Mark Millon led the way for Baltimore with four goals, including a two-pointer. The Bayhawks also tied a MLL record by netting five two-point goals. Baltimore led the MLL in 2004 with 18 two-point goals. Despite the loss, Rochester's Ryan Powell had a monster game. He scored seven times and added three assists for ten total points. For his efforts Powell was named the MLL's Offensive Player of the Week.

This season, the Bayhawks return to Seattle and attempt to improve their record to 2-0 in the Emerald City. Player-coach Gary Gait led Baltimore to a 7-5 record and its fourth consecutive playoff berth in 2004. The Bayhawks, along with the Boston Cannons, are the only two teams to advance to the postseason in each of the MLL's four seasons. Gait tallied 47 points and 32 goals in 2004, good for eighth and seventh on the MLL League Leaders list respectively. Baltimore is led offensively by Millon, who led the team in points last season with 61, which was the MLL's second highest total. He also led the team with 38 goals, finishing third in the MLL in that category. The addition of attackman Mike Powell will bolster the Bayhawks offense this season. Powell was the number one overall selection in the 2004 MLL Collegiate Draft.

The Bayhawks return to Seattle sets up a Wild West Tour rematch. Baltimore's opponent, New Jersey, also appears on the Tour for the second consecutive year. The Pride played the Bayhawks in front of 8,137 fans at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on June 5, 2004. Baltimore beat New Jersey by 22-19 behind Gait's five goals, making the Bayhawks a perfect 2-0 in Wild West Tour play. In a hard-fought, physical battle, the Pride played to within one goal of the Bayhawks midway through the fourth quarter. The Pride lost standout midfielder Austin Garrison for the season with an injury suffered in the contest.

Garrison will return for New Jersey in 2005 along with star attackman Jesse Hubbard. Hubbard has been the cornerstone of the New Jersey franchise since its inception. Hubbard is the MLL's all-time leading goal scorer with 182 tallies. He led the MLL in goal scoring from 2001-2003 before finishing fourth last season. Hubbard is the Pride's all-time leading point-getter and goal-scorer, leading the team in both categories for each of the past four seasons. The Pride have a solid group of midfielders including Garrison, Adam Doneger and David Curry.