Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009

Washington Stealth introduce lacrosse to local media

By Rich Myhre
Herald Writer

 EVERETT -- Lacrosse is an exciting, emotional game, and some of that same excitement and emotion was evident Thursday as the owner, front office staff and head coach of Everett's newest professional sports franchise were introduced to area media and supporters.

The Washington Stealth, members of the 12-team National Lacrosse League, will begin play at the Comcast Arena at Everett in the 2010 NLL season. The team is relocating to Everett from San Jose, Calif., where it played last season as the San Jose Stealth.

The Stealth advanced to the NLL playoffs each of the last three seasons, "so we have a competitive team that's got a shot at the championship right from the get-go," said head coach Chris Hall, a native of nearby Victoria, B.C. "There'll be no expansion team woes and waiting periods. We're here and we're ready to play. And quite frankly, I can't wait to get started.

"This is no small thing coming to Everett," he added. "You are about to see … the greatest players on the planet playing the game of lacrosse."

Lacrosse, Hall said, mixes the speed, grace, and athleticism of NBA basketball with the violence and collisions of hockey and football. Add in dance teams and mascots, he said, "and you've got yourself an incredible entertainment package to watch."

The game "is so fast and so quick and so exciting, you'll come back again, I guarantee it," he said.

The Stealth's roster includes Colin Doyle, who was the league's leading scorer in 2009 and was named to the All-Pro team for the fourth time; NLL 2009 Rookie of the Year Rhys Duch; and Paul Rabil, who was named to the 2009 All-Rookie team along with Duch.

"We have some great players that you'll be able to cheer for," said Hall, a former head coach of the Canadian national team and head coach of the 2004 NLL champion Calgary Roughnecks. "They'll be exciting."

Then, with a chuckle, he said, "I guess I'd better win, eh?"

The process of moving the team to Everett began months ago, and followed years of frustration getting prime weekend dates at San Jose's HP Pavilion, which is also home to the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and Arena Football League's San Jose Sabercats. Attendance was down -- last season, the Stealth averaged about 4,000 spectators a game, compared to a league average of around 10,000 -- and team officials were considering relocation possibilities.

According to Denise Watkins, who owns the team with her husband Bill -- they are residents of Pleasanton, Calif. -- the Puget Sound area "has been on the radar for the National Lacrosse League for a long time. There've been a number of different teams over time that have considered it. A couple of them obviously didn't happen, and at the end for us … it came through the strongest."

Likewise, she went on, the Comcast Arena "without question, came out on top."

Though lacrosse is still largely unknown to many sports fans, the game has a large and growing number of enthusiasts, especially among youngsters. The sport is particularly popular in Canada and on the East Coast, but it is also showing significant growth in the greater Seattle area, where there are approximately 6,000 youth players, according to Doug Locker, the Stealth's vice president and assistant general manager.

That figure, Locker said, is evidence of the region's "passion for the game. There's been kind of a longstanding desire to have a team in the area at the National Lacrosse League level, and that enthusiasm was something that was very, very important to us."

The Stealth are aiming for 3,000-4,000 season tickets in their inaugural season, "and I think that's a very doable number," Locker said. "I'm very optimistic by nature, but in terms of the response we've gotten when we've been out there (meeting with lacrosse enthusiasts in recent days) I think this area is ready to embrace it."

The decision to name the team the Washington Stealth, as opposed to the Everett Stealth, was intended to give the team an identity throughout the state, said team president and general manager Johnny Mouradian.

"There's going to be one team in the state, and it's going to be our team," he said. "We want to be inclusive, and to invite everybody in the state to be a big part of it."
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA