The New York National Lacrosse League (NLL) team today announced its name will be the New York Riptide. The New York franchise was awarded to live events and sports media entertainment company GF Sports in December 2018.
The team name and logo were unveiled during a special event at NYCB LIVE, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum prior to the finals for the New York Open, the only indoor men’s professional ATP tournament in the United States, owned and operated by GF Sports. Ahead of the unveiling the Riptide hosted a lineup of lacrosse clinics for local youth at the venue. To come up with the final name, the team reached out to fans on their website for feedback and the winner by far was the New York Riptide. The Riptide will play all their home games at NYCB LIVE when it begins play in December for the 2019-20 NLL season.
“The fans spoke, and the overwhelming choice was New York Riptide,” said Gary Fuhrman, Managing Partner at GF Capital and Board Member of GF Sports. “We are excited to give the greatest lacrosse fans in the world, a fresh, new brand for professional lacrosse. The name Riptide signifies the unbridled strength of ocean currents, an unstoppable force of nature inextricably linked with Long Island.”
The distinctive Riptide logo features a lacrosse stick in action, amid swirling water to reflect the unrelenting power of the team that GF Sports is looking to build. The color scheme features navy blue and orange to capture traditional New York team colors while adding a distinctive signature Riptide feel with the addition of sea foam green.
“Today marks another great milestone for New York and our league,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “Playing in one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment markets, we’re looking forward to the Riptide becoming a flagship franchise in the NLL. It is exciting to be back on Long Island in the newly-renovated NYCB LIVE, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and we’re looking forward to their first home game in the 2019-2020 season.”
Since being awarded the team in December, GF Sports has quickly made key hires for the Riptide front office staff. Last month, Regy Thorpe was named Head Coach and General Manager for the franchise. A decorated former professional lacrosse player, Thorpe has more than 20 years experience as a coach and general manager at nearly every level of men’s and women’s field and box lacrosse. Thorpe’s first hire for his staff was Lance Basler. The former General Manager, National Teams for US Lacrosse, Basler is Assistant General Manager and Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Riptide.