FORT WORTH, Texas — After more than three years, Fort Worth’s Panther City Lacrosse is no more, with the National Lacrosse League citing an “untimely withdrawal of Panther City’s membership” as the reason.
The National Lacrosse League announced Friday that the Panther City franchise would cease operations effective immediately.
“We have worked tirelessly to resolve a complex situation, but this untimely withdrawal of Panther City’s membership placed the league in an unprecedented situation,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “We’ll move forward with fortitude and confidence, building off our record league attendance last year and the positive momentum generated from our 37th season.”
The club thanked their fans for their support in a social media post.
“To our players, coaches and staff, thank you for your passion, hard work and dedication,” the club wrote. "To our fans, thank you for your unwavering support."
The National Lacrosse League says players under contract will be included in a dispersal draft among the 14 remaining NLL teams at 11 a.m. Monday before the free agency period begins at noon ET.
The professional box or indoor lacrosse team, which wrapped up its regular season in April, began playing in Dickies Arena in November 2021. Panther City Lacrosse made the playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2023-24.
The NLL says it will continue to invest in youth lacrosse participation in the Dallas area with a new UnBOXed™ Lacrosse Communities grassroots initiative.
The NLL UnBOXed Dallas OilCats will join the first wave of NLL UnBOXed activation markets, including the Baltimore Ghost Crabs, Charlotte Cobras, Minnesota Lake Dragons, Montréal Castors, Seattle Shipwrecks, St. Louis Howlers, Tampa Bay Snowbirds, and Utah Spikes, according to the NLL.
The initial round of opt-in participating schools in these inaugural markets will be announced next week. The second wave of NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse participating communities will be released in October as the NLL works to expand its footprint to include about 60 communities in North America by the time NLL-style sixes lacrosse returns to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 14 franchises in the U.S. and Canada.
