NLL Insider

The statistics are there and the New York Titans know them: lacrosse is exploding in the tri-state area.

While that’s good news for the burgeoning franchise, the indoor game is an entirely different beast from what the field fanatics of Long Island are accustomed to. And when the team goes to the trouble of scheduling two indoor games for outdoor teams at the upcoming New York Titans Fan Friendly Day and one of the goalies insists that he doesn’t need pads? There is a disconnect, to put it mildly. It’s a good thing then that serious commitment to not only courting crowds but growing the indoor game is already a big part of the Titans battle plan.

“We’re trying to have a long-term approach to our community efforts,” said team President Aaron Jones. (Pictured.)

“We have our Sticks N’ Schools program which will be an instructional-based program where we’ll partner with schools throughout the New Jersey area, starting in Newark, teaching and exposing kids to the game of lacrosse using our players. We’re also partnering with a company to create indoor lacrosse leagues throughout the state of New Jersey, and we’re also going to feature pep rallies and promotional efforts for a high school game of the week.”

The Titans today are hosting a press conference to outline a few of their upcoming initiatives, the first of which is the Fan Friendly Day which takes place this Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The festivities will include the aforementioned outdoor teams getting their first crack at indoor lacrosse as well as a dance team tryout, inter-squad scrimmage, and a select a seat event for fans.

Though bringing in those who are already fans of the game will undoubtedly be a large part of the team’s success, the organization knows that marketing plans can’t begin and end with the people who are already convinced of lacrosse’s many attributes. To attract the numbers the team would like to see they’ll need to get through to the people whose lacrosse awareness doesn’t extend beyond their Buicks.

“We’ve done research and our fanbase is not only lacrosse fans but young professionals, blue collar or white collar with a bit of discretionary income that would like to come and enjoy the action and the fast-pace and athleticism of the game as well as the family atmosphere. We are an affordable family outing for people who enjoy sports and we’re going to have significant efforts to reach out to them,” said Jones.

“As an example we’ll be targeting municipal workers, police officers, teachers, etc. They fall within our demographic so we’ll have some programs to reach out to them. We’re going to reach out to people who have been soccer fans and baseball fans. We just believe that people who appreciate sports and appreciate athleticism can get into the activity and accessibility of our game and will love lacrosse.”

New fans will have missed the temporary confusion surrounding where the Titans would be playing five of their seven home games, but the fans who have been there from the beginning can be assured that the move to the Prudential Center comes equipped with the best of intentions and a blueprint for bigger fan support.

“We’re extremely proud and excited about it because the Prudential Center is the most cutting-edge facility in the tri-state area, home of the New Jersey Devils and a great market for us so we’re excited about the opportunity,” said Jones.

“Given our position in an up and coming league we’re trying to take advantage of all the lacrosse growth. It gives us a great opportunity to market to the whole tri-state area and gives us a larger fanbase to immediately connect to.”

If it sounds like there’s been a lot of upheaval this offseason, it’s because there has. In addition to the championship-winning Ed Comeau stepping in to fill Coach of the Year Adam Mueller’s shoes, the front office had a shake-up of its own when former President Tim Kelly left for the AFL’s New York Dragons and Jones brought his impressive resume to town.

Having served as a Team President in the NBA Development League and spent a total of ten years in marketing, promotions and branding with the NFL, Jones is returning to the sport he started out with. He was an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University, winning the school’s Athlete of the Year award in both 1985 and 1987.

“I have done a lot in my career and I thought there was no better opportunity than to come back to the game I love the most and contribute to its efforts to emerge as a major sports property in the landscape of professional sports,” said Jones.

“It’s an opportunity that any marketer would rejoice over. We have as much of a clean slate as we possibly could with a sport that’s growing every year in popularity and reaching audiences that major sports can sometimes contend with. We have a history of getting higher television ratings than hockey.”

And does he think the New York Titans can become a leading franchise within the league?

“I’m 100% confident in our ability to do so, and actually it would be imperative for us to do so. There’s no secret that being a franchise in New York City – the largest metropolitan area in the world – and being successful would only add to the equity of the NLL, the team individually, and the growth of the game,” said Jones.

“From both a business standpoint and a fan interest standpoint we know the importance of us being a leader. I don’t think it’s going to happen tomorrow but I do look forward to it happening in the near future.”

While the confidence is certainly welcome, as are all the plans that accompany it, Jones and co. will have to excuse New York lacrosse fans if they seem the slightest bit cynical. This is a fanbase who has been here before and had the turf yanked right out from under them. While the organization works to build this franchise into the flagship that it very well could be, it’s going to take a little patience and understanding from those who support the Titans. But after all, if the team you love can’t be perfectly stable, being on the upswing isn’t a bad alternative.

Rate This Story:

(+42 rating, 10 votes)

 Loading ...