EDMONTON — Several sources confirmed to Global News Thursday that the Edmonton Rush is moving to Saskatchewan. Reaction to the news has been as mixed as it has been colourful.
Some people expressed frustration, saying the professional lacrosse team was not welcomed or supported in Edmonton. Others were ambivalent, sharing little connection with the team. Some blamed the city, while others pointed fingers at the team’s owners.
Dennis Dykes has been taking his family to Rush games since the team’s first season.
“Ten years ago, my dad, for Christmas, bought me two seasons tickets to the Edmonton Rush. It was their first season… I looked at the tickets and I didn’t even know… what it was,” he said with a smile.
“Griffin and I went together for most of that first year,” he said, referring to his oldest son. “He was only eight or nine years old. That was it. We were hooked.”
Soon, Dykes was taking all three of his children to see Rush games and all three eventually took up the sport themselves. The news of the move hit the family like a tonne of bricks.
“I just kind of felt empty,” said Dykes, “like I’d been punched in the stomach.”
He said the team, the sport and the players have become big parts of his family’s life and it’s devastating to see them go elsewhere.
“We got to meet and shake hands with, and talk with, pretty much every player who ever played for the Edmonton Rush. That’s what hurts most about this is that these guys, you feel like you know them… it really does, it really stinks. It’s tough.”
Dykes also said the minor lacrosse movement in Edmonton has been changed by the club being here. He worries what the move means for that in the future.
The news comes just six weeks after the team won its first National Lacrosse League Championship.
Despite success on the field, the Rush has been plagued with problems, including low attendance and an inability to find a home with the future of Rexall Place in doubt.
Rush owner Bruce Urban released a statement in May complaining the team had not been offered a solution by the city or Mayor Don Iveson.
Officials with the team have not commented on the news. A news conference is expected to be held Tuesday in Saskatoon.
With files from Kevin Jesus and Kevin Karius, Global News
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