Saskatchewan Rush working hard to attract lacrosse fans in new home

The Saskatchewan Rush are ready to bring the National Lacrosse League (NLL) to the province for the first time.

The team, which relocated from Edmonton in the off-season, has been working hard. For the past two months, team president Lee Genier has been laying the groundwork for a successful season in the team's new Saskatoon home.

The grind has meant long hours, but Genier doesn't mind.

"We have to build an entire new team, if you will," Genier told Saskatchewan Weekend host Eric Anderson. "From our marketing campaign to offices to our staff, everybody is brand new." 

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The Rush are not your typical sports relocation story. While a lot of teams will move cities following a bad season, the Rush are the defending NLL champions.

Genier said the move has been both daunting and exciting.

"I knew at the time it was going to be an incredible amount of work. But it's incredibly exciting," he said. "It's the first time in history a pro championship team has won and moved to a different city."

There are a number of reasons Genier believes the move to Saskatoon will work.

"One, they have a fantastic building," he said referring to the SaskTel Centre. "The people here are very passionate. It's a great city that really gets behind their sports. So that was one of the factors when we looked and we were moving the team."

While the team moved to a smaller market than it had in Edmonton, Genier said he's excited to become the only professional sports team currently in Saskatoon. But, he noted the team name is called the Saskatchewan Rush — not the Saskatoon Rush — for a reason.

"The first day we went on sale, we had season ticket sales from Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Regina, Lloydminster, Prince Albert," he said. "So everybody in the province is incredibly excited about this."

This week, the team launched their new jerseys and single game tickets will go on sale next week.