The Toronto Rock are a lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The Rock of the late 1990s / early 2000s has been called a dynasty, having won five NLL championships in seven years. From 1999 to 2003, the Rock appeared in an NLL-record five straight championship games. In ten seasons, they have an 11-4 record in playoff games.
The Rock play their home games at the Air Canada Centre, which they currently share with both the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and the Toronto Raptors of the NBA
The franchise was originally founded as an NLL expansion team for Hamilton, Ontario to begin play in the 1998 season. They were known as the Ontario Raiders, and played their home games at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton during their first year. Former Buffalo Bandits coach Les Bartley was hired to coach the new team, and he lured former Bandit Jim Veltman to join him, becoming the Raiders' captain. The Raiders finished a respectable 6-6, barely missing the playoffs.
At the conclusion of the season the team was sold to a group of investors led by Bill Watters, then the Assistant GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, and relocated to Toronto.[1] They were subsequently renamed the "Toronto Rock", and began play at Maple Leaf Gardens in the 1999 season.
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