DELAWARE, Ohio — Although still not quite a mainstream sport, lacrosse has developed solid roots in central Ohio at the high-school and college levels.
Now, Major League Lacrosse will learn whether the pro game can find a niche here, as well.
MLL officially welcomed the Ohio Machine into the fold yesterday, naming Ted Garber the team’s coach and announcing that home games in 2012 and ’13 will be played in 9,100-seat Selby Field at Ohio Wesleyan University, beginning in May.
Professional lacrosse’s arrival in Ohio has been a long time coming, league commissioner David Gross said. Columbus played host to the first game on the MLL Summer Showcase Tour — the league’s traveling platform in 2000 to gain attention for its launch the following year — and the league championship game was played in Crew Stadium in 2002.
“Major League Lacrosse was really born here in Ohio,” Gross said. “So, ‘Why here?’ should be answered as ‘Why did it take us so long, why were we kicking the tires all these years, why didn’t we just plant the flag?’ ”