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It appears professional field lacrosse will be coming to Toronto this spring and summer.

A group of five investors is putting the final touches on a deal to relocate Major League Lacrosse's Rochester Rattlers franchise to Toronto and operate it out of BMO Field, home of Major League Soccer's Toronto FC.

"The league and our group are both very positive about the situation," said Stuart Brown, spokesperson for the ownership group, who will serve as both president and general manager for the team. "We're working towards an agreement and are targeting the end of the week to have everything finalized."

Major League Lacrosse is not related to the National Lacrosse League, which has operated a box lacrosse team in Toronto since 1999. The Toronto Rock has been among the NLL's most successful franchises, capitalizing on the popularity of box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse, in Southern Ontario.

Brown said his group plans to announce a renaming of the Rattlers at a later date.

While field lacrosse is a traditionally a U.S. collegiate sport, the game has grown strong roots in Canada at the high-school and university levels during the past 25 years.

Brown said the Toronto team will be stocked with local talent, showcasing players from both the Canadian national team and the Iroquois Nationals, which competes at the world level under their own flag every four years.

"It's a great fit," Brown said. "You've got some of the best players in the world living within an hour of BMO Field and they've never played on the same team before. Team Canada and Team Iroquois have played against each other but never on the same team. To have that is unbelievable.

"We're looking at it as an opportunity for both the Iroquois and [Canadian] national team to use the pro team as a development tool, absolutely. For coaching development and player development and team concepts. The approach is to help improve the national program by getting as many national team players playing together in the four years between national championships."

Brown said he anticipates there will be some overlap between players who play in the winter-season NLL schedule for Toronto and those who play MLL. As well, he said some players will be able to play a summer box lacrosse schedule in Ontario and with the MLL team.

"From a player's perspective, a lot of guys dream of playing in front of friends and family in a professional venue," Brown said. "These guys do it for the love of the game and they want to do it in front of the people who support them. And guys can make a better living playing the indoor and outdoor seasons."

MLL was founded in 2001, and last season included teams in Rochester, N.Y., Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Long Island, N.Y., New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington.