Tom,
I want to keep the focus on "radio stations broadcasting lacrosse games and/or shows" so as to keep this topic here (so it doesn't get moved to the "off-topic board").
As to why a radio station would want to broadcast lacrosse games and shows...my answers to your questions are listed below.
tomficker said:
And given that lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. ...
How do you figure?
Lacrosse is pretty widely known as one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S.
If you don't believe me - type "lacrosse fastest growing sport" in a google or yahoo search engine and see how many results you get.
You'll likely get dozens of pages of reports like this:
http://www.uslacrosse.org/the_sport/index.phtml
Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States. Youth participation in the sport has grown over 500% since 1999 to nearly 250,000. No sport has grown faster at the high school level over the last 10 years and there are now an estimated 200,000 high school players. Lacrosse is also the fastest-growing sport over the last six years at the NCAA level, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more than 500 college club programs, including nearly 200 women's teams that compete at the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates level.
http://blog.fortiusone.com/2008/01/24/lacrosse-the-fastest-growing-sport-in-the-country/
In 2007 there were a recorded number of 2612 Boy’s High School Lacrosse Programs across the country. That is more than double the amount that existed in 2000 and equates to about 190 new programs a year in that time frame! All this in only 7 years! Below is a map showing the locations of the 2007 programs across the country. Pay close attention to comparing maps in the states of California, Florida, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, and Illinois.
Colleges and Universities are creating programs across the country which are attracting growing number of players to their schools. Below are two maps that show the growth of NCAA Division 3 Men’s Lacrosse Programs across the country. The first map illustrates the number of programs in 1999. The second map shows the number in 2007. In 1999 there were 112 programs and in 2007 there were 138. With the amount of high school players playing now the demand for more programs at the collegiate level has increased. It is expected that more colleges and universities will be creating lacrosse programs at their schools in the near future.
What has caused the game to spread so quickly? There are a 4 main factors. 1. Increased visibility in the National Media. 2. Development of a Professional League 3. Growth of new High School and College Programs 4. Growth of Youth Programs. Knowledge of the game is spreading making it no longer appear to be in the dark to the general public. The game is also very appealing. It is fast-paced and full of non-stop action. It is a good mix between many popular American sports such as football, basketball, and hockey. The whole of America is starting to discover Lacrosse and it is spreading just as fast as the game itself.
tomficker said:
There's been many failed franchises.
True. But this is very common in the "initial years" of the establishment of any professional league.
Go back and look at the early years of the AFL, NFL, NBA, CBA, MLB, etc., you'll see a litany of teams that didn't make it.
Many professional leagues don't even make it - just look at the struggles of professional soccer in the U.S., both mens and womens leagues have gone under at different times over the past 20-30 years.
tomficker said:
It's very much a sport with regional appeal in the Northeast and some smaller pockets around the country.
Very true in the past - but increasingly less so in the current situation and in the future.
For example, Colorado (nowhere near the Northeast) year-in, year-out leads the NLL in attendance figures.
Here is a map of some other geographical areas that have seen large increases in lacrosse participation rates:
http://blog.fortiusone.com/2008/01/24/lacrosse-the-fastest-growing-sport-in-the-country/
In 2007 there were a recorded number of 2612 Boy’s High School Lacrosse Programs across the country. That is more than double the amount that existed in 2000 and equates to about 190 new programs a year in that time frame! All this in only 7 years! Below is a map showing the locations of the 2007 programs across the country. Pay close attention to comparing maps in the states of California, Florida, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, and Illinois.
tomficker said:
I love the sport but arena football and even soccer are light years ahead of it in it's professional appeal.
Football is #1 in the U.S. and will always be ahead of lacrosse.
Soccer is very popular abroad, but fails to garner a large mainstream TV audience here in the U.S.
tomficker said:
I supppose the NCAA men's lacrosse final four weekend is probably a bigger event then how they decide the men's soccer championship but it doesn't translate to the professional leagues.
The NCAA men's lacrosse championships is 1 of only 6 NCAA championships that makes money (profit) for the NCAA - also mens basketball tournament, womens basketball tournament, mens baseball College World Series, mens hockey Frozen Four and mens wrestling tournament (remember the BCS isn't administered by the NCAA - but rather by a committee of the six major athletic conferences and Notre Dame).
Again though, let's keep the focus on "radio stations broadcasting lacrosse games and/or shows."
