Nick Sakiewicz shares “Dear Lacrosse” message on social media
After being silent on social media in the days immediately following the news of his mid-season departure as the National Lacrosse League’s commissioner, Nick Sakiewicz shared a message on Twitter over the weekend, written to the sport of lacrosse.
His tweet reads, “Dear Lacrosse: Thank you for a great 6 years! We accomplished so much together and put the NLL on solid footing. The best part has been meeting all the amazing fans, incredible players and building the relationships that will last me a lifetime. I wish nothing but the best for the sport, the NLL and all the wonderful people I had the honor to meet a long the way. I don’t like saying good bye but I will say see you later along the journey.”
As mentioned in last week’s announcement, Sakiewicz will remain with the league in an advisory role until June 30th of this year.
Also confirmed last week was that NLL Deputy Commissioner, Jessica Berman, would be assuming all commissioner duties. The NLL statement indicated that they would be announcing a selection process for a new league leader in the near future.
Landon Kells and Jessica Berman (Photo: Greg Carroccio)
Soon after Sakiewicz’s departure was made official, Berman tweeted, “Thanks @NLLcommish for all you have done for #lacrosse & #nll, our players & partners & for me as a mentor. We continue to have a great present & future because of the foundation that has been built. All @nll remain excited about where we are heading because of our recent past!”
In Elliotte Friedman’s highly popular 32 Thoughts article on Sportsnet.ca, the hockey insider shared the following on Sakiewicz’s potential next position, “Wednesday, the National Lacrosse League announced the departure of commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. He’s been linked to the Arizona Coyotes. Good luck to Jessica Berman, the league’s deputy commissioner, who steps into the role as a succession plan is finalized. Berman spent 13 years at the NHL as a vice president.”
The Coyotes, once an NLL franchise owner (Arizona Sting), have recently confirmed that the club will be playing at Arizona State University’s new multi-purpose area starting next year. The National Hockey League team’s lease at Gila River Arena in Glendale is set to expire at the end of this season.
The building of a new arena (plus hotels, apartments and shops) in Tempe, Arizona has been proposed and seems likely, but was reportedly in danger of not getting enough votes to pass. In recent weeks, a local group (Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy) launched a campaign against the proposed project, largely due to a pitched property tax abatement and questions regarding how taxpayer money would be spent.
The ASU arena has a maximum capacity of approximately 5,000, far below the NHL seating-capacity standard. It’s completed construction is slated for October of 2022, but would likely only be ready to host NHL games in December of next year.
Prior to his six seasons with the NLL, Sakiewicz served in high-level roles at Major League Soccer, both with the league and various MLS clubs. As mentioned in the NLL’s announcement last week, Sakiewicz, “…also led the efforts to build two soccer-specific stadiums, the first in New York/New Jersey, which led to the acquisition of the team by Red Bull and construction of the stadium and the second in Philadelphia paving the way for Major League Soccer’s 16th franchise the Philadelphia Union.”