PLL and WLL play lacrosse’s first game on water as sports leagues consider alternative venues

The GIST: Tomorrow, the men’s Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and its new women’s arm, the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), will be playing the sport’s first-ever match on a river — a stunt tied to mutual brand partner Whirlpool.

• It’s a bold move that highlights how leagues (especially niche ones) can stand out by using newsworthy venues and creative campaigns to break into new markets.

The details: A Chicago River Boat has been outfitted with a turf field to accommodate 3-on-3 exhibition matches from PLL and WLL athletes. The boat will set sail at 1:30 p.m. ET and mosey down Chicago’s downtown waterfront, pausing in front of the World of Whirlpool — an experience center that showcases Whirlpool products through workshops — to encourage fan engagement.

• The promotion leads into the PLL’s annual Throwback Weekend, which brings the men’s league to Chicago for the first time since 2019. The WLL, which currently only has four teams, lacks a Chicago franchise.

The landscape: This promotion reflects several different trends in sports. Title sponsors have stepped up to create buzzworthy sports events, like Aflac’s Oui Play bringing women’s college hoops to a unique Parisian locale. Other aspects are at play, too, like the increase in exhibition matches that feature men and women athletes.

• This is a marketing opportunity explored by tennis and golf, with the US Open refreshing its mixed doubles format and The Match featuring PGA and LPGA golfers in 2024. Because the PLL owns the WLL, it enables seamless cross-promotion, as demonstrated when the PLL introduced the WLL during its Championship Series.

• Plus, there’s the novel venue factor, something that brought buzz to 2024’s U.S. Olympic Swim Trials. The trials were held at Indiana’s Lucas Oil Stadium — the event’s first time on a football field, which accommodated more fans than ever before (and inspired the LA28 committee to adopt the trend).

Zooming out: Unique venues may win over fans, but it doesn’t always have to mean building or renovating a stadium. Ushering lacrosse fans to an exciting outdoor venue, one that could introduce them to the World of Whirlpool, should result in a major payoff: 70% of consumers become repeat customers after experiencing a brand.

• While the PLL and WLL are up-and-coming brands in their own right — the PLL Championship saw 38% YoY viewership growth — they can still benefit from generating new viewers, especially when 66% of event-goers feel more positively about brands after live experiences. Guess you had to be there.