NEW YORK — Only two weeks since making its debut, the Premier Lacrosse League is continuing to shake up the business-as-usual approach in the lacrosse world. As one of its first major initiatives, the league is announcing that it will call Los Angeles its base of operations.

The move puts the PLL at the center of the sports and entertainment universe, giving lacrosse a home base in a part of the country where athlete-driven media and content is exploding on a daily basis. Additionally, the league’s new home base will ensure that the sport of lacrosse continues to reach new and growing audiences, hungry for the fast-paced action the game will bring to markets across the country.

“This move is a major statement for us as we begin pushing this league forward,” said Mike Rabil, CEO and co-founder of Premier Lacrosse League. “To have a base of operations centered in Los Angeles — where athletes and entertainments intertwine on a daily basis — is going to be so impactful for our league, our players, and our fans. It will give us the launching pad to bring lacrosse to a whole new level.”

The league is still in the process of evaluating several options in Los Angeles, with an eye toward proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, giving all parties the ability to easily come in for meetings, and content creation — as there will be space for creative studios. A formal announcement of the exact location will be forthcoming.

By establishing a foothold in the nation’s second-largest city, the PLL’s West Coast-based headquarters will further establish its credentials as a revolutionary major professional sports league. Traditionally, the sport of lacrosse has been centered in the East Coast, but by moving to California, the PLL is able to take advantage of the sport’s growing popularity all across the country — part of the genesis behind the league’s tour-based approach to its season schedule. A 2017 survey by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) — which oversees high school athletics throughout the state — found that lacrosse had the highest increase of participation among boys and girls. Additionally, Los Angeles has a diverse lacrosse audience — 39 percent of fans are Hispanic and African-American — making it an ideal destination to serve as an epicenter to grow the game.

“I’m thrilled to have our headquarters in Los Angeles,” said Paul Rabil, CSO and co-founder of the PLL. “Having traveled the country to showcase the sport for over a decade, I’ve witnessed first-hand that lacrosse has exploded beyond its traditional borders. To be able to share in that growth – specifically with California’s rapidly increasing participation numbers – while also leveraging major media opportunities to promote our world-class players, is going to change the game for our sport.”

Additionally, the league will maintain a satellite office in New York, keeping a presence on the East Coast.

The Premier Lacrosse League will begin its inaugural season in June 2019, kicking off a 14-week, 12-city season. Six teams, comprised of the best players in the world, will compete throughout a regular season, all-star weekend, playoffs and championship.

The league was announced in October 2018, with an exclusive media-rights deal with NBC Sports Group, where all 2019 PLL games will be presented across numerous platforms — including games on NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, as well as NBC Sports Gold, the network’s direct-to-consumer live-streaming product. Its backing from some of the sports and entertainment world biggest and most-respected investors — The Raine Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Chernin Group, and Blum Capital — has already put it in the conversation as a professional sports league on the cutting edge of player-based content creation.

About the Premier Lacrosse League

The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) brings the sport of lacrosse to a national stage for the first time through a tour-based model, complete with the best players the game has to offer. Co-founded by lacrosse superstar, philanthropist, and investor Paul Rabil and his brother, serial entrepreneur and investor, Mike Rabil, the Premier Lacrosse League is backed by an investment group comprised of The Raine Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Chernin Group, and Blum Capital. The PLL season will begin in June 2019, with six teams, embarking on a 14-week season that concludes with a playoff and PLL championship game. The PLL season will be distributed through an exclusive media-rights agreement with NBC Sports Group. For more information, visit www.PremierLacrosseLeague.com.