Can Ottawa-bound Riptide, soon-to-be Black Bears, make it work in Canada's capital?
Brent Noseworthy and Damon Edwards, New York Riptide (Photo: Reuben Polansky-Shapiro Photography)
It’s been about 24 hours since the National Lacrosse League and New York Riptide officially announced that the Long Island-based box franchise would be relocating to Ottawa, Ontario at the conclusion of the current 2023-24 campaign.
See ya, Riptide. Hello, Black Bears.
While Ottawa has been bounced around as a possible destination for a future NLL team over the last several years - former NLL commissioners George Daniel (Ottawa Sun) and Nick Sakiewicz (Calgary Herald) had Ottawa pinned on their map of maybes) - the franchise-flipping buzz that started on Monday evening caught many off guard.
Also, the timing of the announcement felt a bit awkward since the Riptide are still playing in New York and have two or more months of a season to go, but there are significant advantages to alerting their new market now that a move is coming. More on that in a bit.
The Riptide are one of a handful of teams where sold seats seem to be an issue on most game days. If you watch the league regularly, you know who the others are. Discuss amongst yourselves.
As it has been since the league first started in 1987, team profit is very much tied into their turnstile. With no massive TV deal revenue or sizeable sponsorship money being made (like North America’s big four pro leagues, more like big five if you count Major League Soccer, which you should), ticket sales are beyond important when it comes to an NLL franchise surviving.
That includes the Riptide at Nassau Coliseum, which was the league’s third attempt in Uniondale – the New York Saints played there from 1989 to 2003, and the New York Titans, who played in an alarming five different arenas in just three seasons before bolting for Orlando (which lasted all of one year), spent time on LI in 2007.
Brendan Mundorf, New York Titans
Below, see the annual home attendance averages for the Riptide (based on announced attendance) since they started in the league during the 2020 season, one which of course was never completed due to the pandemic. Also, these are announced numbers (Source: NLLStats.com) not necessarily tickets sold. This data is likely based on distributed tickets, whether they were sold, given away or if that seat-owning individual even showed up. I’m not saying the Riptide have inflated their numbers through this technique, but rather that this is normal practice for virtually all industries that host events in arenas or stadiums (the WWE has even admitted to counting employees and building staff when calculating their attendance numbers). But yes, over the years (even this year), the visual doesn’t always match the metric in the NLL.
Riptide Attendance Averages
2020: 4,157 (6 games)
2021: Did not play due to pandemic
2022: 4,267 (9 games)
2023: 4,611 (9 games)
2024: 4,878 (6 games)*
So, a few things.
This year’s average also includes last week’s alternate venue game at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, which at least on paper, was a home date for the Riptide. If you exclude that game and only consider Coliseum attendance figures, their 2024 average drops to 4,566*.
The 6,437 announced attendance in Laval was actually the highest “home” figure the franchise has had since joining the league. Prior to that, the only other game with 6K+ in the stands was the Riptide’s very first home opener (6,089). They came close with 5,907 announced in attendance in last year’s last game, but then followed it up with their lowest home-opening crowd ever this past December (4,478).
While New York’s attendance in Year 1 was kind of all over the map, including a record-low crowd (2,351) which coincidently was also the team’s first-ever win (13-12 in OT over Georgia), not being able to build on the small amount of momentum they may have ignited during their inaugural season due to 2021 being canned courtesy of the pandemic, obviously didn’t help matters. In many ways, it must have felt like they were starting from scratch leading into 2022. Not an easy spot to be in surely.
Past their attendance numbers, there was an obvious uneasiness regarding the team’s future at Nassau Coliseum anyhow, amny.com recently reporting, “…there is uncertainty surrounding Nassau Coliseum. The 80 acres of land it is sitting on has been purchased for $241 million by Las Vegas Sands in hopes of revitalizing the area with a casino, luxury hotel, and a world-class live performance venue. However, a local judge blocked the move in November. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman had admitted in the past that regardless of what goes there, the Coliseum can’t survive in its current form.”
The NHL’s New York Islanders left the Coliseum after the 2015 season for Brooklyn, came back in 2018, but bolted again in 2021. After the Riptide split, the building’s only regular sports tenant will be the NBA G League’s Long Island Nets, who last year averaged around 2,100 per home date.
Another nagging negative that has plagued the team since they started: they’ve sucked.
Prior to 2024, New York was a combined 12-37 in the standings and never truly a serious contender for a playoff spot. This year obviously things have changed. Before losing to the Toronto Rock in Laval, the Riptide were riding high during a four-game win streak (5-1 over their previous six) and are very much in the playoff picture presently. While the small pool of Riptide supporters are likely gutted that the team is leaving just as they finally got good, it also may have factored into announcing their relocation earlier than some would have expected.
Like Long Island, the NLL in Ottawa has been done before, with similar results.
Hot on the heels of their on-floor and in-the-stands success with the Toronto Rock, a Brad Watters-led group expanded their ownership into the NLL with the Ottawa Rebel in 2001, and a year later the Montreal Express. The Rock are one of the NLL’s greatest success stories, winning Cups and selling out both Maple Leaf Gardens and the Air Canada Centre in an extremely crowded pro sports scene in Toronto. There was a reason the league allowed Watters and his partners to own more than just the Rock (like they have recently with Joe Tsai and Terry Pegula). They had achieved an incredible amount of success in a very short amount of time, so if anyone could further crack the Canadian market in the east, it was them, right?
Sadly, neither Ottawa or Montreal came close to the success the Rock had experienced. The Rebel lasted three seasons, the Express just one. Both franchises, however, pulled in early home attendance numbers many teams today would kill for. See Ottawa’s declining attendance averages at home below.
Rebel Attendance Averages
2001: 8,058 (7 games)
2002: 5,937 (8 games)
2003: 4,202 (8 games)
The Rebel’s very first home game was a clash with the Rock, the team attracting over 12,000 fans to the same arena the Black Bears will be in: the Canadian Tire Centre (then known as the Corel Centre). By game two, they lost over 4,000 fans at the turnstile, although likely had a higher percentage of seats paid versus papered.
Back then, the CT Centre had 18,500 seats in the building, and have since upped that to 19,153. It’s a big barn, now one of the NLL’s largest.
Outside of being in the same arena, another thing that the Riptide and Rebel have in common were on-floor struggles. Big ones.
Unlike the Rock, who were Cup contenders almost immediately, Ottawa finished their three NLL regular seasons with an overall record of 9-34, winning just four games at home. While standings success alone isn’t the best marketing strategy, it certainly can help (see the Saskatchewan Rush’s attendance averages during contending versus crumbling campaigns).
So why did the Riptide choose to announce this move midseason?
Well, with just three regular season home dates left on their schedule, they’ve kinda done all they can to sell seats for this year. Even with a much-improved team in 2024, their attendance is what it is. While the playoffs are looking likely for the Riptide, hosting a postseason date feels a bit out of reach, at least right now.
By announcing their plan to move so soon, they’ve also given their ticket-selling squad a head start on next year. So often in the past, NLL relocations only happened during the summer, squeezing a franchise’s ability to market the team, and more importantly, sell season tickets. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and the Black Bears have now given themselves plenty of time to perfect their pitch to a new customer base. Whatever short-term financial loss the team will likely face for their final three games on Long Island, they’ll almost surely make up for over the next several months selling seeats in the Ottawa area.
Not only does an earlier-than-expected announcement give the franchise more time to get locked and loaded internally, Ottawa residence (past just devoted lacrosse people) that were intrigued by Wednesday’s announcement can now keep their eye on the Riptide for the rest of the regular season (all games are available on TSN+) and potentially create a connection with the club long before they officially cross the border and set up shop.
While all of this has come at the expense of Riptide faithful, ensuring early successful entry into Ottawa is critical, and that pivotal project has already started. It was a cold but likely carefully calculated move that gives the group an early advantage.
In fact, Erik Baker, who is on the board of GF Sports & Entertainment, the entity that will remain owners of the franchise, said just that, just more politely and professionally than we outlined above.
“After a very competitive and extensive screening process, we are thrilled to be bring our franchise, the Ottawa Black Bears, to the Nation’s Capital,” Baker was quoted in yesterday’s league press release. “We chose Ottawa for many reasons, including the strength of the Senators Sports & Entertainment brand, the demand and rapid growth of box lacrosse in the region, and the fantastic arena.”
Right, the Senators.
Again, this is a relocation and GF Sports is still seemingly sole owners of the club, but the Ottawa Senators, who were very much present on Wednesday, are involved in some capacity.
“This is an immense opportunity for our League to fortify our roots in the National Capital Region and to partner with a sophisticated front office in the Senators,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “We feel this relationship will be a terrific success and are excited and confident in the short- and long-term positioning of the Ottawa Black Bears.”
Erin Crowe, COO & CFO of Senators Sports & Entertainment, went on to say, “Senators Sports & Entertainment continues to look for ways to grow and strengthen our relationship with the Ottawa-Gatineau community.
“Box Lacrosse is a fast, physical and fan-friendly game. With the NLL’s strength and rapid growth, a strong ownership group and the collective relationships with TSN, we believe the Ottawa Black Bears will be another great addition to the Ottawa sports landscape. This will be an entertaining and exciting product that our fans will love and embrace. We can’t wait for the Black Bears to hit the field and take their place in our community.”
One advantage to this partnership must be the arena deal the Black Bears will have at the Canadian Tire Centre, which is operated by Capital Sports Properties Inc., who are owned by Senators Sports & Entertainment.
During what ended up being the Rebels’ final season in 2003, the team moved from the CT Centre for the significantly smaller, City-owned Ottawa Civic Centre (TD Place Arena today). Had they started there would things have been different? Probably not, but hard to say.
Often, when NLL teams relocate or painfully pack it in, one-sided arena agreements get brought up as a reason why they bounced. That can’t be the case with GF Sports & Entertainment at the Canadian Tire Centre, which as the Rebel were well aware, won’t be easy to fill.
Sidenote: While the Canadian Tire Centre is one of North American’s larger indoor arenas, the Sens rank in the bottom third of the NHL when it comes to home attendance this year. Like many of the teams we’ve mentioned today, the Senators have struggled in recent seasons, last making the playoffs in 2017. With all that said, the club still averages over 17K a night, a game-day dream for most NLL teams.
Besides a likely break on their new barn bill, the Black Bears will need to lean on the Sens heavily while attempting to get noticed in their new market. If connecting with the community was an issue on Long Island, it won’t be in Kanata.
Yes, Kanata.
When we asked our Instagram (@TheLaxMag) followers to vote on whether the move from Long Island to Ottawa was a good one (“yes” won by an overwhelming margin), a comment we received a few times (mostly from locals) was the potential issue of being in Kanata versus downtown Ottawa, where TD Place Arena is located (more specifically Lansdowne Park). Kanata, home of the CT Centre & Senators, is a suburb of Ottawa, about 45ish minutes away from the capital’s downtown core. It was discussed to death in the past when it comes to the NHL club, and again since Michael Andlauer recently purchased the team (Ottawa Sun).
Will location be problematic for the Black Bears? It could. While talks of a new arena just west of downtown are ongoing, if and when it is approved, a $900 million project like that will take time (CTV News).
Nepean Knights, 2022 Founders Cup Champions (Photo: Ontario Lacrosse League)
Mentioned in yesterday’s press conference, lacrosse in Ottawa is most definitely on the upswing. For those that take part in amateur summer lacrosse, Ottawa and most notably Nepean, have seen significant success over the last several seasons both in participation and competition. There are more Ottawa-area players in the NLL today than ever before, and Ontario Junior Lacrosse League clubs have been finding success with Nepean Knight names on their roster.
Convincing Ottawa lacrosse people to come to Kanata to support the Black Bears likely won’t be an issue, but as many NLL teams over the years have learned, simply relying on the local lacrosse community to achieve success is rarely a recipe for, well, success.
The Rock selling out MLG and the ACC wasn’t done by getting existing lacrosse fanatics to drive in from all over the province and purchase a ticket. It was done by breaking into the city’s mainstream sports landscape and convincing people who knew next to nothing about the sport to support them. The same thing has happened in Buffalo, Denver, Calgary, Saskatoon and a handful of other cities that have presently or previously thrived in the NLL.
While ownerships or partnerships with NHL or NBA-owned teams has tremendous advantages (almost all of the financial variety), we’ve also seen those scenarios squandered in this league (ie. Minnesota Wild and Arizona Coyotes), although not so much lately.
There is a lot to like about an NLL team coming back to the Ottawa area. The Sens relationship and thriving box scene near Kanata specifically are two colossal checks on GF’s must-have list, but a lot of other things have to go really right in order for the Black Bears to thrive or even simply survive over the next several seasons. GF Sports has seemingly made a lot of smart moves early on in this process, which hasn’t always been the case when it comes to relocating franchises in this league.
Can the Black Bears make it work in Canada’s capital? As the NLL’s past tell us…
Yes, or maybe no, but maybe most importantly, never go back to Long Island.
Three strikes, they’re out.