Professional lacrosse returns to Edmonton Friday night as the National Lacrosse League hosts a regular season game in the city for the first time in more than a decade.
In the game at Rogers Place, the Georgia Swarm will be the designated home team against the visiting Calgary Roughnecks.
The Swarm enter the game early in the 2025-26 NLL season with a 2-3 record, while the Roughnecks are 1-4. The league’s 14 teams play an 18-game season from December through April before the playoffs begin.
The game is part of the league’s Unboxed initiative, launched in 2024 to promote lacrosse in communities without a current NLL franchise.
The first Unboxed game was held in Montreal last November.
Speaking to the media at Rogers Place, league commissioner Brett Frood said Edmonton was a natural choice because there is “a lot of passion” in the city.
“From an endemic point of view, obviously lacrosse is huge in Alberta and still growing, and we have phenomenal crossover with hockey fans, so when you think about the synergies, it’s a great place to be.”
“It was definitely a strategic decision to bring in Calgary,” he said. “We know how much fun Edmonton fans have with that fan base.”
Edmonton last hosted NLL action in 2015, when the Edmonton Rush won the championship at Rexall Place.
The team later moved to Saskatoon after failing to obtain a lease at Rogers Place.
Georgia Swarm veteran Lyle Thompson said the return is meaningful: “Edmonton used to have a professional lacrosse team,” Thompson said.
“Something has been built here and I’m sure they miss lacrosse, so it’s good to be back.”
