League MLL General manager Spencer Ford Head coach David Huntley Ground Fifth Third Bank Stadium | Based in Kennesaw, Georgia Steinfeld Cups None Founded 2015 Color Black, red, gold, white | |
 | ||
Home stadium Fifth Third Bank Stadium Colors Black, red, gold, white Location Kennesaw, Georgia, United States Profiles | ||
The Atlanta Blaze is a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Kennesaw, Georgia. They joined the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league as an expansion team for the 2016 season. The team plays its home games at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, located in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Contents
Franchise history
In August 2015, MLL granted an expansion franchise to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2016 MLL season. The league had held several games there before including the 2014 and 2015 championship games which drew 8,149 and 8,674 people (the latter is a Steinfeld Cup record).
2016 inaugural season
The Blaze hosted the first game in franchise history on Saturday, April 23, 2016 against the storied Chesapeake Bayhawks. Kevin Rice scored the first goal in franchise history only 44 seconds into the game, and Conrad Oberbeck scored 14 seconds later as Atlanta took a 6-0 lead to start the game. Despite the great start, the Blaze were not able to finish it out and lost 16-13 in front of 4,145 fans. After losing in Boston, the Blaze came back home on May 14 where they smoked the Denver Outlaws for their first win in franchise history by a score of 23-12.
The rest of the Blaze's first year included some very questionable moves. On June 14, the Blaze traded their top draft pick, Myles Jones, to the Bayhawks after Jones had only played two games for the Blaze. On July 21, the team released Hall of Fame head coach John Tucker and replaced him with David Huntley after a 3-7 start. The Blaze finished their inaugural season in eighth place at 4-10, ahead of only the Florida Launch. Former Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers executive Jim Pfeifer was named the team's new president on December 29.
Roster
First round selections
