Philly's new lacrosse franchise gets a name

Philadelphia's new franchise in the National Lacrosse League was christened with a name Wednesday morning, and it's a familiar one.

Comcast Spectacor announced that the team will be the Philadelphia Wings, who will make their debut in the 2018-19 season and play at the Wells Fargo Center. League games run from December through April.

Comcast Spectacor had conducted an online poll asking fans to submit suggestions for the team name, and received more than 7,000 entries. Fans were then asked to choose from among the top three entries: Fire, Founders, and Wings. The Wings received more than 5,000 votes.

"The Wings are clearly the favorite, and we're happy to give the fans what they want," Lindsey Masciangelo, Wings executive director of business operations, said in a statement.

Philly has had two previous pro indoor lacrosse teams named the Wings. They competed from 1986 through 2014 in the NLL, and from 1974-75 in the Eagle Box Lacrosse League.

The National Lacrosse League, founded in 1986, has 10 other franchises from across the United States and Canada: Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, New England Black Wolves, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego NLL, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock and Vancouver Stealth. The 2017-18 NLL season will begin next month. For more information, visit NLL.com.