New Professional Lacrosse League Holding First Games At Gillette

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A new professional lacrosse league is starting up in June, and its first three games will be in Foxborough. The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), on Friday announced that the first three games of its inaugural season will be played at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 as part of the league’s opening weekend.

The league was co-launched by a former two-time gold medalist with Team USA, who played 10 seasons of professional lacrosse in Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League. He is serving as the league's chief strategy officer, while his brother Mike Rabil, is the CEO.

“We are humbled and excited to begin this new era of lacrosse at Gillette Stadium,” said Paul Rabil. “Gillette is a world-class venue with a history of hosting successful events like the NCAA Lacrosse Championships, and we’re excited to bring the Premier Lacrosse League to New England.”

The PLL has six teams, which travel on a tour of 12 cities. It features what the league said are the 160 best players in the world. The league is the first professional sport to give players equity stakes, according to PLL officials. PLL signed an exclusive media-rights agreement with NBC. The network will air three games on NBC, and an additional 16 games on NBC Sports. All other games will be accessible live through NBCSports.com and the NBC Gold app.

Kraft Group President-International Dan Kraft, who played lacrosse goalie at the collegiate level for Tufts University in the 1980s, attended the announcement to express his support for the new league and its potential to further grow the sport in New England and throughout the country. In a statement, Kraft said:

“We are thrilled to partner with Paul and Mike Rabil and the Premier Lacrosse League to host the league’s first three games of its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium this summer,” said Kraft. “We really feel like Gillette Stadium is the preeminent lacrosse venue in the country and we have the opportunity to once again serve the largest lacrosse regions in terms of youth, high school and college players throughout Massachusetts and New England with a world-class event promoting the sport. We look forward to seeing Paul and Mike’s passion for lacrosse and creative concepts for the new league further grow the sport in not only New England, but throughout the country.”

Prior to the event, Gillette Stadium officials invited a group of Foxborough High School lacrosse players to participate in a clinic with Paul Rabil on the stadium field.

Feature image Courtesy of Gillette Stadium/Kassie Epstein