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Lacrosse league eyes return to Philly

Bringing a National Lacrosse League team back to Philadelphia is a top priority for the league, commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said Thursday. Since the Wings moved to Connecticut in 2014, Philadelphia has been without an NLL team.

Bringing a National Lacrosse League team back to Philadelphia is a top priority for the league, commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said Thursday. Since the Wings moved to Connecticut in 2014, Philadelphia has been without an NLL team.

"It was a legendary team, arguably should have never left here. They brought in great numbers," said Sakiewicz, a former CEO and operating partner of Major League Soccer's Union. "They had a lot of relevance in the city."

Sakiewicz was named the NLL's commissioner in January and is in his first offseason with the league. The league announced a week and a half ago that it will move its headquarters from New York to Conshohocken. Sackiewicz said the league wanted to get out of the shadow of other leagues' headquarters in New York and be in a more central geographic location considering the NLL's recent expansion to Georgia.

Sakiewicz declined to discuss further details about a team's return to Philadelphia.

"There are ongoing discussions right now regarding that," Sakiewicz said.

Owner and team president Michael French said in 2014 when the Wings moved that remaining in Philadelphia was financially unsustainable. The Wings played at the Spectrum from 1986 to 96 and at the Wells Fargo Center from 1997 to 2014.

pschwedelson@philly.com