Ottawa Black Bears to join National Lacrosse League next season

Ottawa will have a professional lacrosse team again later this year.

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) — which plays indoor box lacrosse — announced Wednesday that the New York Riptide will be moving to the nation's capital after the current season.

The team will soon sport a new name and logo — the Ottawa Black Bears.

Ownership will remain with GF Sports and Entertainment, the league said in a news release, and the Black Bears will play out of the Canadian Tire Centre.

"We chose Ottawa for many reasons, including the strength of the Senators Sports & Entertainment brand, the demand and rapid growth of box lacrosse in the region, and the fantastic arena," said Erik Baker who's part of the ownership team, in the news release.

"The Ottawa Black Bears [name] … reflects not only the attributes of the region, but also the values of this community and our franchise. We will be a community-dedicated team that will be relentless, proud, passionate and gritty."

The Black Bears' first home game should be in December, the league said.

The Riptide debuted in the NLL during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York, the former home of the New York Islanders.

After the next season was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Riptide didn't make the playoffs in 2022 or 2023. The team has an even 5-5 record this season.

Owners GF Sports & Entertainment also run the Dallas Open and the Atlanta Open tennis tournaments.

Ottawa briefly had a professional team in the early 2000s when the Ottawa Rebel played in the NLL out of the Canadian Tire Centre, until the franchise's suspension in 2003.

The NLL has 15 franchises including in Halifax, Toronto, Saskatoon, Calgary and Vancouver.

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