SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Indoor lacrosse will make its labor-delayed debut in San Diego on Saturday night when the San Diego Seals face the Rochester Knighthawks at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
Billionaire Joseph Tsai was awarded a National Lacrosse League expansion team on Aug. 30, 2017, in what commissioner Nick Sakiewicz called "the culmination of months of work and part of the five-year strategic plan to grow the sport of lacrosse through the thoughtful expansion of the NLL."
The Seals are the league's first team in California since 2009, when the San Jose Stealth moved to Everett, Washington. They are among two NLL expansion teams beginning play this season, along with the Philadelphia Wings, increasing the membership in the league that began play in 1987 to 11.
Teams in Uniondale, New York and Halifax, Nova Scotia are set to begin play in the 2019-20 season.
Tsai, vice chairman of the Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, is 168th on Forbes' list of the world's richest people with a net worth of $8.5 billion.
Tsai played lacrosse at Yale, "all three of his kids have played lacrosse in this market for a couple of years, he had a passion for the market, he has a passion for the global game of lacrosse, he's a big supporter of the Hong Kong national team, big supporter of the Federation of International Lacrosse, big supporter of Yale University lacrosse and this was just a natural progression to step forward into the professional game," Seals President Steve Govett told City News Service.
When the franchise was awarded, Tsai said, "Our team is committed to creating a fan-first experience and to being an integral part of the local community."
On their website, the Seals say their mission in San Diego is "to immerse ourselves in the local community, promoting philanthropy, good citizenship, and growing the game of lacrosse throughout Southern California."
The team offers schools programs promoting a healthy, active lifestyle, providing an anti-bullying message and introducing lacrosse. Seals players will make about 200 appearances at schools this season, Govett said.
The longer period between the awarding of the franchise and start of play than the NLL's two previous California franchises has given the Seals "a runway to introduce the sport at a grass-roots level," Govett said.
The Seals will follow the modern professional sports practice of mixing entertainment with the games, including having a mascot, Salty, and a dance team, the Sirens, who will both make frequent appearances at events other than the games.
"By putting on a great show, the game will ultimately be embraced because it is a great and exciting game," said Govett, who was the president of the NLL's Colorado Mammoth from 2002-17.
Govett expects about 11,000-12,000 fans for the home opener and has set a goal of averaging 10,000 fans for the nine home games. The team will break even if it averages 7,500 fans per game, Govett said.
The Seals had been scheduled to play their home opener Dec. 8 but the NLL canceled the first two weekends of play on Nov. 15 after it was unable to reach agreement with its players union on a new collective bargaining agreement. The new agreement was announced Nov. 24 and the Seals began training camp Nov. 30.
The Seals began the season with three games on the road, defeating Colorado, 17-12, Dec. 22, but then losing at Calgary, 9-5, Dec. 28, and to the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush, 16-12, last Saturday.
The Seals have a league-high six rookies on their roster, including forward Austin Staats, the first choice in the NLL entry draft, who leads the Seals with nine goals. Staats was selected to the All-World Team at the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championship, helping lead the Iroquois Confederacy to the bronze medal.
Indoor lacrosse is played on hockey rinks covered by a green dieter turf carpet that is laid down over the ice.
Each team has five runners -- forwards, transition players and defensemen and a goaltender -- on the floor during the game, with players rotating on and off the floor in shifts, similar to hockey. The game consists of four 15-minute quarters. A game tied at the end of regulation is decided in a sudden-death overtime.
An average of 25 goals are scored in an NLL game.
