Photo courtesy of lacrosseplayground.com

-by Jordan Smith

Freedom Hall, no question, has been home to some great venues.  Though, since the exit of the University of Louisville basketball team, traditional competitive sports have been non-existent.  Occasionally you will come across a bull riding competition or a horse show, but team-organized competition has been absent.  

That is, until last year Freedom Hall opened its doors to a new horse show, but these horses are not prancing around for judges and pageantry.  No, these horses compete through grit and grime to be the best lacrosse team in the nation.

The breed is Stickhorse, and can only be found in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Stickhorses are the Commonwealth's only professional sports team, competing against other indoor lacrosse, or box lacrosse, franchises in the U.S.  Their inaugural season began in January of 2012 with an astounding 5-1 record, and their tenacity and hunger for another dominant season is already under way.  Currently the Stickhorses sit 1-1 as they prevailed  at home this past weekend against the Rhode Island Kingfish and dropped a close, season-opening game to the rival Boston Rockhoppers.

Now, you might be thinking, how does Kentucky host a professional lacrosse team?  We only care about basketball and football in this state.

Kentucky is becoming one of the fastest growing states for the lacrosse community.  Predominantly a northeast U.S. and Canadian sport, interest heightens as local and state teams are establishing lacrosse teams.  Bellarmine University is home to the state's only NCAA D-1 lacrosse team, and the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky have adopted club teams that have competed for numerous years.  Even Kentucky high schools in Louisville, Lexington, and northern Kentucky have sanctioned lacrosse as an official team sport.  With the spark in interest, Freedom Hall opened its doors to the Stickhorses to introduce a new, yet pre-existing, sports environment to the Commonwealth.

Lacrosse is not your everyday sport.  Sure, they compete for a championship at the end of the season, but the environment is quite unique.  Mix the physicality of football and hockey with the pace of a NASCAR event, and you have a product that will never leave you sleeping in the stands.  Outside the “box,” the Stickhorses provide opportunities for fans to enjoy the game if lacrosse is not necessarily your sport.  Starting this season, the team opened the Paddock Pub, which is a entertainment area where you can enjoy limitless cornhole and sit front row on the action, all at a $5 admission (not to mention it includes a bar).  For the kids, inflatable castle and obstacle courses are available, too.  More information about the team, tickets, and merchandise can be found at kentuckystickhorses.com.

The Stickhorses next home game will not be until February 1 when they host a double header weekend against the Baltimore Bombers.  So, get ready for this stampede to fill Freedom Hall in February and embrace a new era in Kentucky sports.