National Lacrosse League commissioner Jim Jennings formally introduced Edmonton as the league's eleventh member city at a press conference today at Rexall Place, the new team's home arena.

"The great sports fans of Edmonton have supported the NLL on television for the past several seasons, and we’re excited to bring a team to the City of Champions," Jennings said.

"Since the NLL first came to Alberta with the Calgary Roughnecks four years ago, fans in Edmonton have followed the league and asked us when they would have a team of their own. I’m happy to say that day has now arrived."

Jennings was joined at the podium by Calgary businessman Bruce Urban, 39-year-old president of Western RV Country, and Craig Anstead, general manager of the Edmonton-area recreational vehicle dealerships.

Urban, who recently failed in a bid to buy the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, will be the majority owner, with Anstead holding a 10-15 percent stake in the team and serving as managing partner.

Although the Edmonton team will be treated as an expansion franchise, Urban and Anstead actually purchased the rights to the dormant Ottawa Rebel from Brad Watters and a group of investors, for a reported $2 million Canadian.

The new team won't be called the Rebel, but nor does it appear it'll be called the Speed, as reported yesterday. The team has launched a temporary web site, edmontonprolacrosse.com, on which it is soliciting suggestions for a name and logo.

The Urban/Anstead bid marks a long-awaited admission into the league for the City of Champions, which had been ticketed for an expansion team to begin play in 2002. That was scuttled over fears that the league was expanding too quickly.

In the years that followed, several groups got as far as the Board of Governors in trying to buy an expansion franchise or bring an existing team to Edmonton, but they always either fell apart or were rejected.

Even Urban ran into a roadblock early in the week, when the governors tabled his proposal because it wasn't detailed enough.

A day later, the board had what it wanted and Edmonton had a team -- not that there was any doubt of that for the new majority owner.

"Anytime I start a business venture and I'm committed to it, I never question whether it'll happen, just when it'll happen," said Urban. "That's the way I get. Once I'm on a quest, I expect to succeed."