Portland to host the 2007 NLL All-Star Game

National Lacrosse League Awards 2007 All-Star Game to Portland
LumberJax to host at Rose Garden; national telecast on Versus (OLN)

The National Lacrosse League awarded its 2007 All-Star Game to the Portland LumberJax, who will host the contest at Rose Garden on Saturday, March 10th at 10PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific. The announcement was made on Tuesday at Portland City Hall, by NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings, LumberJax Managing Partner Angela Batinovich and Portland Mayor Tom Potter. "The city of Portland and the fans of the LumberJax have shown enormous support for their team after only one season," said NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings. "It is with great honor that we award the opportunity to showcase the best lacrosse players in the world in Portland in 2007."

The league also announced a live national telecast of the 2007 All-Star Game on OLN, which will be changing its name to Versus in September 2006.  Versus will telecast NLL games weekly throughout the league’s 2007 regular season.  “With a great crowd and a live national telecast, the national spotlight will be on Portland come March 10th”, said Jennings.

“Although I have publicly said that I would not hold an All-Star Game for at least a few more years, the Jax fans have proved this city most definitely deserves a game,” said Batinovich. “With just one season behind us, our loyal fans have been a constant support for us. I know that having the game here in Portland is the right choice for both us and the league.”

“We are extremely excited to finally give lacrosse the recognition it deserves here in Portland,” said Mayor Tom Potter. “I believe that this city is worthy of hosting this coveted event that will put Portland in the nation’s spotlight.”

The 2007 All-Star Game will once again feature the Eastern Division vs. Western Division.  The Eastern Division now includes New York and Chicago, expansion teams for 2007 that have increased league membership to thirteen teams.  The 2006 All-Star Game was hosted by the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre. The Western All-Stars defeated the Eastern All-Stars by a score of 14-13 in front of 15,924 fans.   Further details about the game and activities surrounding All-Star Weekend will be announced at a later date.