World Box Lacrosse Championships Coming To Upstate New York
It is no secret that New York is a hot-bed for lacrosse. So, it should be no surprise that World Lacrosse had chosen Upstate New York to hold the 2024 championships.
Included in the 2024 World Championships for the first time will be the women's World Championships. World Lacrosse is expecting up to 30 nations to compete in the men's tournament and about a dozen in the women's tournament.
According to insidelacrosse.com, the tournament will be held at the brand new Nexus Center in Utica. The state of the art facility has three rinks and it is attached to the Utica Comets (AHL) home, the Utica Memorial Auditorium. In 2022 the Utica Memorial Auditorium hosted the 2022 LAXNAI. Inside Lacrosse says that the LAXNAI is the largest international box lacrosse tournament in the world.
Insidelacrosse.com noted that the Onondaga Nation, which is less than an hour west of Utica, was host to the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. IL proclaimed that Onondaga Nation set the bar pretty high for future WILC hosts. 2024 will be the first time that USA Lacrosse has actually been the host nation for the World Lacrosse box championships, marking a continuing increased interest taken by the governing body in the box game. Inside Lacrosse speculated that the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League may get involved with the championships. Buffalo has the highest attendance in the NLL and would certainly be a welcomed partner for the games.