Bullies owner sits down with LaxDirt.com

Aug 7th, 2012 | As we continue to look more and more in to The Professional Lacrosse league and see what really makes the league tick, LaxDirt had the opportunity to speak with Jacksonville Bullies owner Chris Milo. As one of the founding members of the league, The Bullies have a veteran group of box players and are sure to make some noise in the league come September.

With a background in business side of sports and as someone who has played the game, Milo seems to be a perfect candidate to build this franchise.  “While this is my first venture into the pro sports world as an owner, I graduated from college with a sports management degree. I have worked with several pro sports teams and leagues over the years. Most notably I worked for a short time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and at the NFL league offices.” Milo told LaxDirt. Obviously as far as experience and leagues to mold a fledgling league after, The NFL would be top of the list.

When the dispersal draft and collegiate draft took place, out of the four teams in the league The Bullies were one of the quieter teams. Chris explained to us his strategy heading in to the draft process. “Being one of the two already established teams with a roster in place, the dispersal and college drafts were not very big for us. We have a core group of guys that are solid and those two drafts just filled some holes we had in the roster.” A roster that includes some veteran names the likes of Brett Moyer, Nick O’hara, Adam Rand, Mario Ventriquattro and Chazz Woodson we can see why The Bullies stood pat for the most part.

Major League Lacrosse ventured in to Florida this year for their All-Star game. This showed us that there is indeed a lacrosse market in the sunshine state and we asked Mr. Milo why the team chose Jacksonville. “Jacksonville is a sports town and a growing city. It is host to many sports and entertainment events every year and the growth potential is astronomical. The Mayor has been a great advocate of bringing new events to the city and we think that The Bullies are going to be one of the premiere events in Jacksonville.” Playing their home games in Jacksonville Memorial Arena, the home schedule and season tickets have already been released on www.jaxbullies.com and the buzz has begun.

With every fledgling team and league come goals. For a franchise to be successful in a new market and new sport like Box Lacrosse and owner and general manager needs to have that focus in place. We asked Chris about those goals and this was his answer. The first goal is to get the word out to the people in and around Jacksonville that we have arrived and they should come see our product. The expectation for the team and this first season is to win the championship; anything short of being the first Professional Lacrosse League Champion would be a major disappointment for The Jacksonville Bullies.”

The Professional Lacrosse League season is right around the corner; the season kicks off on September 14th with Jacksonville’s first home game being September 15th against The Charlotte Copperheads. This is an exciting time and a chance for fans to get in on the ground floor with a league that is sure to put on a spectacular show.