Edmonton, AB - Not a New Year's Eve countdown, but a countdown to a date that will mark the sport history books in the City of Champions. Professional lacrosse invades Edmonton with the inaugural season of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League. The Edmonton Rush takes on the San Jose Stealth on January 6th at Rexall Place. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball.

The owner and governor of the Edmonton Rush, Bruce Urban, is convinced his team will succeed where other new sports ventures have failed in Edmonton. Ownership of the Rush is Bruce's first venture in the world of professional sports, but his accomplishments in the business world are reason enough to expect the best in his new endeavour.

"I'm very excited about this team," states Bruce. "People are asking me 'Aren't you a little nervous because of what has happened before?' "I say to them 'Absolutely not!' People will embrace this sport and they will love it. We plan to make Edmonton proud."

Duane Vienneau, the president of the Edmonton Rush, has no doubt about the future of the National Lacrosse League in the city he knows well. "There are so many reasons why I believe the Rush will be successful in Edmonton. Number one, the NLL has the best lacrosse players in the world. And we will have a number of top-quality local players in the lineup like Jamey Bowen, Jordan Cornfield, Kevin Howard and Jimmy Quinlan, who the fans will enjoy watching."

"This is a weekend-driven sport so that's great for our fans. As well, another important factor is the value for the dollar that our ticket prices give to our fans. I believe our team has a certain cool factor to it. Every city in the NLL has seen its team reach a level of success because once fans see the game, they come back. The support for the Rush has been great already and we can’t wait until our fans get a taste of it." Vienneau added.

Vienneau, who was brought aboard by Rush owner Bruce Urban, feels the Rush will have an immediate and impressive impact on the sports scene of Edmonton - the City of Champions.

"Edmonton is a proud city and we want our fans to be proud of this team. Our ownership is committed to doing everything right. No other team in the NLL is doing what we are when it comes to promoting our team through billboards, newspapers and radio. We are marketing this team in a professional manner and the credit for that goes to our ownership and management team."

The home opener on January 6 is OCC Night. The Orange County Choppers created a custom Edmonton Rush chopper to serve as a signature piece and inaugural memento for the Edmonton Rush Lacrosse Club. This chopper will be unveiled at the inaugural game of the Edmonton Rush on January 6. One lucky season ticketholder will win a trip for two to New York to meet Paul Teutel Sr, Paul Teutel Jr and the rest of the cast and crew at Orange County Choppers at the O.C.C. shop. Three other fans will win a mini replica of this Rush O.C.C. chopper on opening night. The 2005 Canadian Country Music Band of the Year Road Hammers will perform at half time. Each person attending the game will receive a numbered, special certificate confirming their attendance at the inaugural game.

Be a Part of History!
The countdown begins when professional lacrosse invades Edmonton with the inaugural season of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League. The Edmonton Rush takes on the San Jose Stealth on January 6th at Rexall Place. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball. Purchase tickets at (780) 732-RUSH or Ticketmaster.

Important date for next week: Thursday, January 5, 2006 at Noon in City Hall, Mayor Mandel welcomes the newest professional sports team to the City of Champions. Full details will follow early next week.

Below is a timeline of important dates that brought the Rush to January 6, 2006.

How the Edmonton Rush Came to be

MAY 5
National Lacrosse League commissioner Jim Jennings visits Rexall Place and officially announces that the league has granted an expansion franchise to Edmonton. Bruce Urban is named owner and governor.

JUNE 9
Duane Vienneau is named president of the Rush and A.J. Jomha is named director of lacrosse operations. The team selects Rush as its name, beating out the other final contenders (Edge, Speed, Extreme, Vault and Crude) from the 1,000 entries.

JUNE 22
Paul Day, the 2004 NLL Coach of the Year, is named the general manager and head coach of the Rush.

JULY 13
The Rush participate in the 2005 NLL Expansion Draft and select eight players, four of whom (Kevin Howard, Pat Campbell, Brad Dairon and Randy Daly) are now with the team. The Rush made three trades on the day, landing a first-round draft pick in the 2007 Entry Draft, local product Jimmy Quinlan and third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft.

JULY 20
The Rush acquire 2005 All-Rookie Team member Rory Glaves in the Dispersal Draft of players from the Anaheim Storm roster. In two trades made on the day, the Rush acquire Chris McElroy, Kerry Susheski, Ted Jenner and a third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft.

JULY 27
Eric Wawrychuk of St. Albert wins the "Name the Team" contest and receives two season tickets to the Rush' inaugural year.

AUGUST 9
The Rush pull off a stunning trade as they acquire reigning NLL Defenceman of the Year Andrew Turner along with Buck Stobart and Cam Bergman from Rochester.

AUGUST 26
The Rush announce the signings of free agents and local products Jamey Bowen and Jordan Cornfield and unveil team's edgy logo, reflecting style, speed and strength.

AUGUST 29
It's one of the busiest days in the history of the Rush beginning with the naming of Daren Fridge and Jim Milligan as assistant coaches for the Rush. A.J. Jomha, the Rush's director of lacrosse operations, also adds assistant coach to his duties. As well, the Rush unveil their season ticket packages just moments before the team hosts the annual NLL Entry Draft at Rexall Place.

SEPTEMBER 13
The Rush release their schedule for the 2006 NLL season. The club hosts the first game in franchise history on Jan. 6 against San Jose.

SEPTEMBER 24
Rush season tickets go on sale for the lower bowl only, with a special edition jersey incentive for all season ticket holders in the lower bowl.

OCTOBER 13
With the demand for tickets increasing, the Rush open up sales for Rexall Place’s upper bowl.

OCTOBER 14
The first day of the Rush's open tryouts begins at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park with 47 players arriving for workouts and intrasquad games.

OCTOBER 19
Another big day for the Rush begins with the announcement of a major promotional campaign that will see Orange County Choppers create a customized chopper to be unveiled at the season-opening game in January. As well, the popular country/rock band The Road Hammers will play at halftime of the first game. Jason Gregor is named the play-by-play voice of the Rush for broadcasts on The Team 1260 radio and Yukon Jack of The Bear is named the in-house announcer. Also, 11 players from the open tryouts are named to the training camp lineup at Dante's Bistro which is named host venue for the club's post-game parties.

OCTOBER 29
The Rush hold tryouts for the Edmonton's Crush Dance Team at the NAIT gym.

NOVEMBER 3
The Rush open training camp at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park with 40 players in attendance.

NOVEMBER 9
The Rush make a trade with provincial rival Calgary to land faceoff specialist Jordan Sundher.

NOVEMBER 23
The Rush install their turf field at Rexall Place.

NOVEMBER 26
Once again, it's another busy day for the Rush as they host a training camp session at West Edmonton Mall's Ice Palace. The day includes a pair of workouts, an autograph session, a practice by the Edmonton's Crush Dance Team as well as the naming of the official roster of 26 players. As well, the Rush unveil their official home and away jerseys - black, silver and white with a team logo and barbed wire trim.

DECEMBER 19
The Rush take to the floor at Rexall Place in their new uniforms to face-off in an exhibition game with the expansion NLL Portland Lumberjax. The Rush was slow to the game at first but quickly found the game plan but came up short for a 9-8 loss.

DECEMBER 30/31
Final practice preparations for the team at Millennium Place and TransAlta before the season home open January 6 at Rexall Place against San Jose.

JANUARY 5
At Noon in City Hall, Mayor Mandel welcomes the newest professional sports team, the Edmonton Rush, to the City of Champions. (Full details will follow early next week.)

JANUARY 6
Professional lacrosse invades Edmonton with the inaugural game of the Edmonton Rush vs San Jose Stealth. Every attendee receives a special attendance certificate, the Edmonton Rush OCC chopper is unveiled and Road Hammers perform at half time.