National Lacrosse League's Albany FireWolves moving to Oshawa
Oshawa will soon be home to a professional lacrosse team as the Albany FireWolves are moving to the city.
The FireWolves are relocating ahead of the 2025-2026 season, according to a news release from the National Lacrosse League (NLL) on Tuesday.
The team will play its home games at the Tribute Communities Centre in downtown Oshawa.
"Oshawa sits within one of the core epicentres of the indoor lacrosse world in Ontario … The energy and passion of the sports' fans in this area make this an ideal home for the franchise and our league," NLL Commissioner Brett Frood said in the news release.
The FireWolves will keep their name for the upcoming season, the NLL said. Details about branding and community initiatives will be announced in the coming weeks.
They are now the second NLL team based in the Greater Toronto Area, alongside the Toronto Rock.
The other Canadian teams in the league are the Calgary Roughnecks, Ottawa Black Bears, Halifax Thunderbirds, Vancouver Warriors and Saskatchewan Rush.
Move is 'bittersweet,' Albany FireWolves sayThe Albany FireWolves thanked their supporters "for [their] passion, loyalty, and dedication" in a statement on Instagram.
"There were several challenges, both at the state and local level that made the economics of staying in Albany untenable, which makes this decision bittersweet," the statement read.
The team said it is excited to begin a new chapter in Durham Region and share the Tribute Communities Centre with the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals.
"We will work tirelessly to earn the respect of the community and to create a team and game-day experience that families, fans, and businesses can rally behind," the statement read.
The FireWolves were the runners-up in the 2024 NLL season, falling to the Buffalo Bandits.
The franchise relocated to Albany from New England ahead of the 2021-2022 season, according to an archived page from their website.
Oshawa has rich lacrosse historyLacrosse was invented by the Haudenosaunee, a confederacy of the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk), Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations.
Oshawa's lacrosse history goes back to neighbourhood leagues in 1872, said Todd Powless, vice-president of recreational lacrosse for the Oshawa Minor Lacrosse Association — also known as the Oshawa Blue Knights.
In the 1960s, the Oshawa Green Gaels, a junior lacrosse team, won a record-setting seven consecutive Minto Cup championships — the national junior men's lacrosse championship.
"We have that in Oshawa as our legacy," Powless said.
The FireWolves' move will mean fans will have a team that is easily accessible, he said. The Toronto Rock currently play in Hamilton, which is a long commute.
"It's kind of like winning a lacrosse lottery," he said.
Powless said he also hopes the team will inspire more people to play lacrosse across the region.
"The main question is, where can we get season tickets?" he said.
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