Rush, don't wait, to see city's newest game
Flush with cash and season ticket holders, pro lacrosse team might just make it
Published: Saturday, December 31, 2005
Short guys' basketball bombed. Roller hockey was a rumour in no time. Every successive kick at indoor and outdoor soccer has oscillated between fiasco and debacle. Indoor football never broke huddle. Major junior hockey couldn't even make it work.
And don't get me started on the carpet-bagging Roadrunners.
But professional lacrosse will be different here, I think.
Most of those failed franchises died from a debilitating lack of funding, even before it became obvious not many people wanted to watch them play.
The Edmonton Rush, on the other hand, are flush with owner Bruce
Urban's money. They are also six days away from their first game in the
National Lacrosse League, and we will soon see how many people want to watch. If crowds reach 7,000 at Rexall Place, the team will break even. If they sell out at 16,500 every night, they will break records.
But if news of their debut comes as something of a surprise -- and that's possible unless you're one of the team's 4,000 season ticket holders, 26 players, four coaches, seven front office employees or two owners -- their daunting task is obvious.
Let's face it, this city isn't exactly all abuzz about the Rush.
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