After spending six Major League Lacrosse seasons in Baltimore, the Bayhawks are moving to the nation’s capital for the 2007 season, it was officially announced Wednesday in Georgetown.

“Our territory as a team is Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia,” said Bayhawks part owner and team President Jeffrey Harvey. “We had a desire to play in the center of our territory.”

Market territory was one factor going into the decision made by Harvey and fellow owners Scott Hiller, who is also the team’s head coach, and Michael Levitt, who also has a stake in the MLL’s San Francisco Dragons. Other factors included slumping attendance and revenue-sharing problems at Towson University’s Unitas Stadium.

The move will be immediate for the organization, but the team has yet to announce a home field. Georgetown University, Catholic and George Mason have all been rumored as possible destinations.

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Within the locker room, players’ feelings are split over the move. Players living in and around Washington, like Kyle Dixon and Matt Ward, are excited for obvious reasons.

“It is not really considered a move from Baltimore,” Dixon said. “It is a central location to draw fans.”

For career Bayhawks Tom Marechek and Shawn Nadelen, though, the move is not convenient.

“This is going to be a big change,” Marechek said. “I understand from an ownership aspect, but I was not 100 percent happy with the decision when I heard it.”

As an assistant coach at Towson, Nadelen said he benefited the most from playing at Unitas Stadium.

“I was playing where I was working, and I could have walked downstairs from my office,” he said.

Questions have arisen, amidst the Bayhawks’ move, pertaining to why Baltimore has historically had trouble supporting professional lacrosse. Nadelen said oversaturation could be a problem.

“If you wanted to, you could get to three great lacrosse games from the first day of March through May,” Nadelen said.

Nadelen and many teammates hope to see some of the familiar Baltimore fans at the new home, wherever it may be. But the trip won’t be easy. Nadelen added that Washington fans have a great opportunity in their laps.

“They have a chance to put themselves on the map and say they are just as big a part of [the MLL] as Baltimore has been,” Nadelen.