HALIFAX — On Saturday, February 16, Halifax’s newest professional lacrosse team has revealed their name: the Thunderbirds.
After making their first announcement in September, the name was unveiled at the Halifax Convention Centre and the team will be the National Lacrosse League’s fifth Canadian franchise.
Under the ownership of Curt Styres, the name of the Thunderbirds was chosen in recognition of the traditional indigenous spiritual figure that is a symbol of power, strength, and nobility, as well as the military connections in the Halifax region. The announcement was also launched with a traditional ceremony.
“It was incredibly special to launch the Thunderbirds with traditional Mi’kmaq ceremony as our people ritually began our matches ancestrally,” said Styres in an interview posted to the NLL website. “To continue the legacy of Indigenous sport and culture is personal to me and to see how this sport is being embraced here today in Mi’kmaki is overwhelming.”
The entirety of the future team attended the announcement and the roster will be mainly made up of players from the Rochester Knighthawks, who are relocating to Halifax under Styres’ leadership. This will include Cody Jamieson, who plans to be a member when they begin play next season.
The team will begin playing during the 2019-2020 season at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Meanwhile, another expansion team based out of New York under the name Riptide is also planned for next season to play out of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y..
