FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 6th, 2020

FROM THE PLL: PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE ANNOUNCES PLL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Two-week Quarantined and Fanless Tournament to Debut on NBC, NBC Sports Network & NBC Sports Gold this July

LOS ANGELES, CA. – May 6, 2020The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announces the return of world class lacrosse with the launch of the PLL Championship Series Powered by Ticketmaster, a two-week quarantined and fanless tournament scheduled to run from July 25th – August 9th.

PLL Championship Series will take shape in two parts. Throughout the first week, the league’s seven teams will compete in a fourteen-game group play format to determine seeding for the following week’s single-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament will be crowned the 2020 PLL Champion. All twenty league games will be presented live across NBC, NBCSN, or NBC Sports Gold, with all televised games also streaming live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

“The Premier Lacrosse League is excited to be a leader in the return of pro sports this July,” says PLL Co-Founder and Atlas LC midfielder, Paul Rabil. “Although we’ve pivoted our originally scheduled season to a fully quarantined, fanless model, our PLL Championship Series will bring sports fans an innovative and thrilling experience that only the best players in the world can provide. It’s taken a village of top-notch executives to develop, and this is a testament to the forward-thinking prowess that the PLL has become renowned for.”

To guarantee the safety of tournament participants and staff, the PLL has formed a COVID-19 Medical Committee that will consist of multiple physicians, including infectious disease experts. Throughout the duration of the tournament, the PLL will implement regular COVID-19 preventative measures and restrict all travel in and out of the selected location (venue TBA at a later date).

“Last month, we made the tough yet necessary decision to postpone our 2020 season to ensure the well-being of our players and fans,” says PLL Co-Founder and CEO Mike Rabil. “With the support of our investors, sponsors, and our fantastic broadcast partner, NBC Sports, we are delighted to officially unveil the PLL Championship Series. This summer, millions of fans will witness the game’s best players compete for the ultimate prize in an exciting yet, most importantly, safe format. We’ve brought in respected medical experts as the health of our players is of utmost importance.”

The PLL’s 2020 league season was originally scheduled to start on May 29th in Foxborough, MA., but was postponed indefinitely last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to partner with the PLL to broadcast the innovative PLL Championship Series this summer,” says Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports & NBCSN. “With our numerous broadcast, cable, digital and OTT platforms, we are able to present the entirety of this unique tournament — including 20 games in just 16 days — and allow fans to get their fix of the best lacrosse in the world.”

While fans await the PLL Championship Series, they can stream every action-packed game of the 2019 inaugural season with free access to the NBC Sports Gold Premier Lacrosse League Pass through May 31, 2020. Click here for more information.

ABOUT PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE

The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is a men’s professional lacrosse league in North America, composed of 7 teams rostered with the best players in the world. Co-founded by lacrosse superstar, philanthropist, and investor Paul Rabil and his brother, serial entrepreneur and investor, Mike Rabil, the Premier Lacrosse League is backed by an investment group composed of Joe Tsai Sports, Brett Jefferson Holdings, The Raine Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and other top investors in sports and media. The PLL season is distributed through an exclusive media-rights agreement with NBC Sports Group. For more information, visit www.premierlacrosseleague.com and follow on social media: Instagram (@PLL), Twitter (@PremierLacrosse), Facebook (@PremierLacrosseLeague) and YouTube (YouTube.com/PLL).

ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP

NBC Sports Group serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine, and a direct-to-consumer product NBC Sports Gold. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of media rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, INDYCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, and many more.

NBC Sports
Chris McCloskey
203-356-2781
christopher.mccloskey@nbcuni.com

Matt Potolski
203-356-2719
Matt.Potolski@nbcuni.com

Premier Lacrosse League
Julian Galano
julian@premierlacrosseleague.com