LOS ANGELES – June 15, 2023 – The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) powered by Ticketmaster today announced record-setting performance for its 2023 opening weekend and continued momentum through its second week of play. In addition to record broadcast performance, the league posted its highest merchandise sales per capita in a single day, and saw all-time engagement on the PLL app upon opening voting for home city assignments for PLL teams in 2024. 

The PLL’s eight lacrosse clubs kicked off their seasons at the University at Albany on June 3 and 4 with games aired live on ABC and ESPN+. Game one of the PLL season, Atlas vs. Redwoods had 782,000 viewers at its peak on ABC, making it the most watched professional outdoor lacrosse game of all time. Through weeks one and two of the PLL season, viewership on ESPN+ is up more than 50% compared to the first two weeks of the 2022 season.

In the first two weeks of its 2023 season the league also recorded:

• 17 percent increase in ticket sales year-over-year
• 25 percent increase in app downloads year-over-year
• 101 percent increase in social media engagement during training camp, weeks one and two compared to 2022
• 296 percent increase in app users year-over-year
• Over 55,000 fan votes submitted for team home cities

“Our 2023 opening weekend was our best ever, and we built on that success into week two in Charlotte. From viewership, ticket and merchandise sales, to social engagement, and app downloads we have seen significant, quantified growth year over year. Moreover, the enthusiasm from fans across the country to bring the PLL to their city has been outstanding. We are proud to start our 2023 season strong but promise to keep our foot on the accelerator,” said Mike Rabil, co-founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League. 

“What a powerful opening two weeks for the Premier Lacrosse League and ESPN. I’m continually amazed by our players and coaches. If you like competition, of our eight games played, six of them were decided by one goal. If you want highlights, we scored five appearances on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. The world’s best lacrosse players brought the best of our sport to the fans,” said Paul Rabil, co-founder and president of the Premier Lacrosse League. 

The PLL recently announced it will assign its eight lacrosse clubs home cities in 2024. Locations under consideration to receive teams were announced at halftime of the Atlas LC vs. Redwoods LC game live on ABC. Following the announcement, fan voting for locations to receive teams was opened, and nearly 50,000 fans submitted votes in the first two days of voting.

The PLL season continues in Columbus June 16 and 17 at Ohio State University Lacrosse Stadium with games on ESPN and ESPN+. To view the PLL schedule and purchase tickets, visit premierlacrosseleague.com/schedule.

ABOUT THE PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE

The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) powered by Ticketmaster is a men’s professional lacrosse league in North America, composed of eight teams rostered by the best players in the world. Co-founded by lacrosse superstar, philanthropist, and investor Paul Rabil and his brother, serial entrepreneur and investor, Mike Rabil, the PLL is backed by an investment group composed of Joe Tsai Sports, The Chernin Group, Arctos Sports Partners, Brett Jefferson Holdings, The Raine Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Kraft Group, Bolt Capital and other top investors in sports and media. The PLL is distributed through an exclusive media rights agreement with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+. The PLL was named 2020 Sports Breakthrough by the Sports Business Journal, and recognized as a 2021 Best Employer in Sports by  Front Office Sports. For more on the league, visit www.premierlacrosseleague.com and follow on social media: Instagram (@PLL), Twitter (@PremierLacrosse), Facebook (@PremierLacrosseLeague), YouTube (YouTube.com/PLL) and TikTok (@pll).