Features

Lacrosse team to set US sports first with arena project

The San Diego Seals National Lacrosse League (NLL) team has claimed a first for the US after announcing plans to play a game in a purpose-built arena on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The Seals will host the Vancouver Warriors on February 22 in what will mark the first-ever regular-season sporting event played on a Marine Corps base.

An arena with limited seating capacity – between 4,000 and 4,500 – will be built to accommodate season ticket members and select active duty, reservists and retired military personnel. A range of events will also be held in the lead up to the game to honour the San Diego military community.

Seals president Steve Govett said: “With more than 100,000 active-duty military personnel calling San Diego home, we are forever grateful for their commitment to protecting our freedom, this city and this great country. This game, and the events surrounding it, are a way for us to say ‘thank you’ to them and their families for their service.”

Fans wishing to attend the game, which has been dubbed ‘Rumble on the Runway’, will require a Seals season ticket.

San Diego also hosted the first college basketball game on an active aircraft carrier in 2011, when North Carolina defeated Michigan State in the presence of President Barack Obama.

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