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NLL places expansion franchise in Portland

May 11, 2005 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


The National Lacrosse League today awarded a professional lacrosse franchise to the City of Portland, according to NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings. The team will begin competing in the 12-team League in January of 2006 and play its home games at the Global Spectrum-managed Rose Garden. The Portland franchise (www.nllportland.com) joins the Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association and the Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League as tenants at the Rose Quarter.

The team name will be chosen by the fans. The "Portland NLL Name the Team Contest" has begun on www.nllportland.com, where fans can submit their favorite team name for the expansion franchise. The names will be collected and analyzed and a winner will be selected at a future date. Tickets for each of the nine home games (eight regular season and one preseason) range from $10.00-$25.00, with additional VIP seating available. Deposits are now being accepted for season tickets starting at $90.00, by calling 503.235.8771 or go to www.nllportland.com.

"Portland is a tremendous sports city with dedicated fans and a terrific first-class arena, the Rose Garden," said Jennings. "This is a big day for the NLL as we are placing our first ever franchise in the US Pacific Northwest. The new Portland team will instantly create some intense rivalries with some of our other West Coast teams."

Angela Batinovich, an extremely successful entrepreneur, and a member of one of the leading business families on the West Coast, is the majority shareholder and will serve as managing partner of the new franchise. Global Spectrum, operators of the Rose Quarter, and a company which has a successful history in the NLL with one of the leagues original franchises, the Philadelphia Wings, will serve as the marketing and promotions arm of the new franchise.

Batinovich founded and successfully operated her own line of women's clothing Bat's Daughter in Los Angeles, CA. She will immediately relocate to Portland and spear-head the launch of Portland's newest sports franchise.

"The NLL is an extremely exciting and entertaining sporting attraction," said Batinovich. "I know the fans in Portland are going to love coming to see their newest team play. Our goal is to provide the ultimate fan experience featuring affordable entertainment weekend from January through April. I'm really looking forward to bringing indoor lacrosse to Portland."

Combining Batinovich's entrepreneurial successes and Global Spectrum's marketing abilities creates a tremendous formula for this new sports franchise. Global Spectrum's marketing department in Portland - Eric Blankenship and Eric Nemeth - have worked with the highly successful Philadelphia Wings, of the NLL, a combined four seasons before relocating to Portland. Global Spectrum is entering into a partnership with Batinovich in which the company will provide marketing, sponsorship, ticket sales, publicity, promotions, game operations and presentation.

"Our customers are going to love indoor lacrosse at the Rose Garden," said Global Spectrum's Mike Scanlon, General Manager for the Rose Quarter. "The NLL showcases the best lacrosse players in the world in an action packed, high scoring sport. The new franchise and its players will take an active role in the Portland community."

Robert and Andrew Batinovich are both minority partners of the franchise. Robert "Bat" Batinovich retired from Glenborough Realty Trust (NYSE: GLB) in 2003 and now serves as Chairman of the Board. He founded the predecessor company, Glenborough (www.glenborough.com), and its affiliates in 1978 and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Andrew Batinovich Glenborough Realty Trust's co-founder, was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2003 and continues to serve as President and director, which he has served since September 1997. The third minority partner is long-time family friend business partner, Wallace Krone, President of Krone Enterprises.

The National Lacrosse League is North America's professional indoor lacrosse league, featuring the best lacrosse players in the world. The NLL has 12 teams playing in the major markets of the United States and Canada. NLL teams each played a 16-game schedule (eight home & eight away) in the 2005 regular season that started on January 1, 2005 and concluded on April 17, followed by the Champion's Cup Playoffs (April 22-May 14). All games are played on the weekends. The teams are: Anaheim Storm, Arizona Sting, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton (to be named), Minnesota Swarm, Philadelphia Wings, Portland (to be named), Rochester Knighthawks, San Jose Stealth and Toronto Rock. Most of the NLL clubs are owned and/or operated by the National Hockey League (NHL) and/or National Basketball Association (NBA) teams in their respective markets, and play in the same arenas used by those teams. In addition to Portland, the league has just welcomed ! a new franchise in Edmonton for the 2006 season that will play its home games at Rexall Place, the home of the NHL Edmonton Oilers. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball. Indoor lacrosse is played inside the confines of a NHL hockey rink, with glass and rink boards intact. The playing surface consists of a green dieter turf carpet that is laid down over the hockey ice. The two teams combine to score a total of 25 goals in the average NLL game.

The 2005 Edge NLL Championship Game featuring Arizona at Toronto will air live across North America on NBC and The Score Television Network (Canada) on Saturday, May 14th at 12:30pm Pacific. The game will be played in front of an expected sellout crowd of 19,000 fans at the Air Canada Centre. NBC aired the NLL All-Star Game live on February 26th.

The league's average attendance for the 2005 season exceeded 10,000 fans per game, including seventeen single-game crowds of 16,000 fans or more. For more information, visit the official website of the National Lacrosse League at: www.NLL.com.

The Rose Quarter in Portland, OR, includes 20,000-seat Rose Garden, 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, 6,500-seat Theater of the Clouds, 40,000-square foot Exhibit Hall and the Rose Quarter Commons. Home to the National Lacrosse League's new expansion franchise, NBA Portland Trail Blazers and the WHL Winter Hawks, the Rose Garden is a $262 million multi-purpose arena that opened in the fall of 1995. The Winter Hawks also play in Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1960 and served as the original home of the Trail Blazers. Memorial Coliseum is attached to 40,000-square foot Exhibit Hall and seven meeting rooms. The Commons, Portland's largest outdoor public plaza, connects the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum and can accommodate up to 5,000 people for outdoor events. Ovations Food Services is the official food and beverage concessionaire for the Rose Quarter.

Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than 45 facilities throughout the United States and Canada, manages the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. The Philadelphia-based company is part of one of the world's largest sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks, Comcast SportsNet, a regional sports programming network, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, and New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities. Comcast-Spectator owns three minor league baseball teams - the Bowie Baysox, the Delmarva Shorebirds and the Frederick Keys - all affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles.



National Lacrosse League Stories from May 11, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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