The 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship begins Wednesday when the U.S. opens the tournament in a match against Canada at Snapdragon Stadium.
Featuring 30 countries, more than 100 games and many of the sport’s top international stars, the tournament will make San Diego the epicenter of the men’s lacrosse universe during its 11-day run. It’s also a first for the city, which has never before hosted the world championships.
In addition to Snapdragon, games will be played at both San Diego State University and the University of San Diego, including the SDSU Sports Deck and USD’s Torero Stadium.
The tournament will feature pool play:
- Pool A: Joining the U.S. and Canada, are Haudenosaunee (aka the Iroquois), Australia and England.
- Pool B: Japan, Uganda, Wales, France and Denmark.
- Pool C: Israel, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Puerto Rico.
- Pool D: Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, Poland and Jamaica.
- Pool E: Scotland, Hong Kong, Italy, Austria and Mexico.
- Pool F: Ireland, Korea, Latvia, the Netherlands and Peru.
Prior to the U.S. team’s opening 7 p.m. match, the Men’s Championship will begin with a 3 p.m. Fan Festival at Snapdragon that is open to fans of all ages. Opening Ceremonies will start in the stadium at 5:30 p.m., featuring a parade of nations, and there will be a halftime performance with Grammy nominee, DJ Steve Aoki.
One player with a local connection, San Diego Seal Danny Logan, made the national roster. The team also includes six gold medalists from the 2018 U.S. squad, Trevor Baptiste, Jesse Bernhardt, Michael Ehrhardt, Jack Kelly, Rob Pannell and Tom Schreiber.
San Diego’s edition of the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship marks the 14th time the event has been staged. The American side has reached the finals in all 13 previous tournaments, winning 10 world titles, including a 9-8 victory over Canada in the last event, held in Netanya, Israel in 2018.
It’s the fourth time the championships will be contested on American soil and the first time since Denver hosted the event in 2014.
Single-day tickets, starting at $40, are on sale. Those tickets are for matches at Snapdragon and Torero, but passes for SDSU will be available to purchase day-of at the Sports Deck box office.
Full tournament passes are sold out.
