Styres Becomes First Native North American to Own a Major Professional Sports Franchise
NEW YORK, June 19 /PRNewswire/ — The National Lacrosse League, North America’s professional indoor lacrosse league, officially welcomed Curt Styres as the new majority owner of the Rochester Knighthawks franchise earlier today. The transaction price was a record $5.575 Million (US), marking the highest price for the sale of a franchise in the league’s history. As recently as 1999, the league sold franchises for $250,000. Today’s franchise sale price reflects a stunning 2,300-percent increase in franchise value over the past nine years.
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Styres, a co-owner of Grand River Enterprises and the Owner/CEO of Arrow Express Sports, is a Mohawk from Six Nations and the first Native North American to own a major professional sports franchise. The game of lacrosse was created and first played by Native North Americans in the 17th century.
The Mohawk people are a member of the Iroquois Confederacy (also knows as Six Nations), which also includes the Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and Tuscarora. The Iroquois Confederacy is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. Styres is from Six Nations and lives in the Grand River Territory (located in southern Ontario, Canada).
“I’m anxious for the opportunity to work with the fans of Rochester and the Rochester Americans and Knighthawks,” said Styres. He was formally introduced at a press conference earlier today at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. The BCA has been the Knighthawks’ home arena since the club’s inception in 1995.
“As the premier professional league in the sport of lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League is thrilled and honored to welcome Curt Styres as the new owner of the Rochester Knighthawks”, said NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings.
“The history of our sport is very rich in the culture and traditions of the Native North American people, and it gives us great pride to have the first Native North American owner of a major pro sports franchise here in the NLL. Curt is a great man and a very successful businessman, and we are excited to have him as an owner in our league.”
The National Lacrosse League’s 2008 season concluded on May 17th as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Portland LumberJax in the Edge NLL Championship Game. The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,690 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, and aired on ESPN2 and The Score (Canada).
About the National Lacrosse League:
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s professional indoor lacrosse league, featuring the best lacrosse players in the world. Founded in 1987, the league recently completed its 22nd season of pro indoor lacrosse. Average attendance for the 2008 season was over 10,000 fans per game, with several Games played in front of crowds in excess of 16,000 fans. The NLL has twelve teams playing in major markets of the United States and Canada: Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Chicago Shamrox, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, New York Titans, Philadelphia Wings, Portland LumberJax, Rochester Knighthawks, San Jose Stealth and Toronto Rock. The league expands to New England next season when the Boston Blazers begin play in 2009.
Several NLL clubs are owned and/or operated by the National Hockey League (NHL) and/or National Basketball Association (NBA) teams in their respective markets, and play in the same arenas used by those teams. Teams each play a 16-game regular season schedule followed by the Champion’s Cup Playoffs. All Games are played on weekends. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball. Indoor lacrosse is played inside the confines of a NHL hockey rink, with glass and rink boards intact. The playing surface consists of a green turf carpet that is laid down over the hockey ice. The two teams combine to score an average of 25 goals in an NLL game.
The league uses a host of media platforms in broadcasting its games. ESPN, NBC and VERSUS are among the networks that have aired NLL Games on national television over the past three seasons, as well as The Score and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada. Games also air on leading regional sports networks including Comcast Sportsnet, Time Warner Sports Network and Altitude. The league also broadcast Games outside of North America for the first time last season on Eurosport2, an international sports network that reaches more than 50 countries worldwide. SIRIUS Satellite Radio airs a live NLL Game of the Week and a weekly one-hour NLL talk show hosted by lacrosse icon Casey Powell.
For more information, visit the official website of the National Lacrosse League at: .
National Lacrosse League