Yahoo Finance Saskatchewan Rush lacrosse team bought by owners of Saskatoon Blades
The Saskatchewan Rush have new owners.
On Monday, the Priestner Sports Corporation announced the purchase of the National Lacrosse League team.
The Priestner family currently owns the Saskatoon Blades, a Western Hockey League team and the other major sports team to operate out of SaskTel Centre.
New team governor Colin Priestner said talks with the team began to take shape about a month ago.
"We reached out to [former Rush owner Bruce Urban] and asked if there was any desire or interest on his part if he was ever looking to retire with the team or move on," Priestner said during an online news conference.
"I think it was just the right partners at the right time. It wasn't something we were actively looking to do ... it just kind of came very organically."
National Lacrosse League commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said he welcomed having the Priestner Group join the NLL.
"The Rush have been, and will continue to be, a model franchise not just for the National Lacrosse League but for all of sports in North America."
The Saskatchewan Rush relocated to the city from Edmonton in 2016. The team won the NLL championship twice, in 2016 and 2018.
The company is headed by Mike Priestner, a former WHL goalie who also owns Go Auto, a car dealership with 47 locations across the country.
The team will continue to be run by general manager Derek Keenan.
Keenan said it will be business as usual on the field.
"We're going to put a really good product on the floor," said Keenan. "That's my responsibility and I don't plan on taking the foot off the gas."
The corporation said it would not be making any changes to season tickets when the NLL resumes. Any season ticket holders will still have their seats, and any account credit toward next season will remain intact.
In March, the Priestner family pitched Saskatoon city council a more active role in the management of the SaskTel Centre arena. City council is waiting for more information before coming to a decision.
"In terms of our desire to partner on the arena, that's something that is totally separate from this," Priestner said.
"I think being the double anchor tenant now of SaskTel is a great thing for both teams and will create a lot more co-operation and ability to work together," he said.
"We're sharing an arena during the exact same time of the season. There's maybe a super ticket where you come to a Blades game on Friday and a Rush game on Saturday, and one admission pass gets you in to both for a reduced price."
The city is also looking at building a new downtown arena in the future. Former Rush owner Bruce Urban had said he would be willing to invest in a new arena.
Priestner said any new place to play is years down the road and they are focused on improving SaskTel Centre.
"We've got to invest in this arena a little bit now because we have millions of people over the next seven or eight years coming through the turnstiles for all kinds of events here."
Priestner is confident the NLL season will begin on time in early December. The league hasn't played any games since it was shut down in March of 2020.
