Canadian Elite Basketball League

Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2019 CEBL season
Sport Basketball
Founded 2017
Founder Richard Petko
Inaugural season 2019
CEO Mike Morreale
Motto holdcourt
No. of teams 6
Country  Canada
Continent FIBA Americas (Americas)
Official website www.cebl.ca

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a professional men's basketball league expected to begin play in spring of 2019. Six teams were announced May 2, 2018, that will be owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball Ventures. Originally founded in October 2017, the CEBL launched a rebrand May 2, 2018 and is headquartered in Niagara, Ontario.

History

The CEBL was first launched in October, 2017, with the intentions of being a professional basketball league running in the spring and summer months.[1][2] Shortly after the CEBL's launch announcement, Guelph, Ontario was named as the first host city of the forthcoming Canadian Elite Basketball League, playing out of the Sleeman Centre.[3][4][5] On November 7, 2017, Fraser Valley Professional Basketball Club was announced, playing out of the Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.[6] On November 22, the CEBL announced a team in Niagara playing out of the Meridian Centre would also be joining the league, which would later be confirmed as the Niagara River Lions then of the National Basketball League of Canada. At the same time, the CEBL also announced the creation of their launch committee: Mike Morreale, Glenn Young, Carman Adair, Sebastien Chevrier, Mardig Sevadijan, Noelvi Leguizamon, and John Sabetti.[7] The launch committee was dissolved upon the announcement of the formal leadership team and the additions of Saskatchewan, Hamilton, and Edmonton Professional Basketball Clubs on May 2, 2018. At this time the CEBL also announced that league play would commence summer 2019.

Organization

League executive structure

On May 2, 2018, the CEBL announced their league executive structure. Mike Morreale, former president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA), was announced as the first CEO of the CEBL. The CEBL also announced that Morreale will be joined by Lee Genier as president and chief operations officer, Glenn Young as executive vice president of sales and marketing, John Lashway as executive vice president of strategy and communications, Josh Knoester as vice president of league operations, Greg Francis as head of basketball, and Nathan Brady as director of league operations.

Players

Although the league intends to bring top international players from across the globe, the focus is to assist the growth of Canada Basketball. In alignment with this focus, the CEBL has a minimum number of roster spots designated to be filled by Canadian athletes.

Teams

Team City Venue Capacity Founded First season Head coach
Edmonton Stingers Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton Expo Centre 5527 2018 2019 TBD
Fraser Valley Bandits Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford Centre 7046 2017 2019 TBD
Guelph Nighthawks Guelph, Ontario Sleeman Centre 5100 2017 2019 TBD
Hamilton Honey Badgers Hamilton, Ontario FirstOntario Centre 17383 2018 2019 TBD
Niagara River Lions St. Catharines, Ontario Meridian Centre 5300 2015 2019 TBD
Saskatchewan Rattlers Saskatoon, Saskatchewan SaskTel Centre 15195 2018 2019 TBD

References

  1. ↑ "New coast-to-coast Canadian pro basketball league announced - Sportsnet.ca".
  2. ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/canadian-elite-basketball-league-announced-2238346.htm
  3. ↑ "Guelph becomes first city to host Canadian Elite Basketball League team - Sportsnet.ca".
  4. ↑ "Guelph named first team in new Canadian men's pro basketball league - CBC News".
  5. ↑ "New basketball league names Guelph as first team". 31 October 2017.
  6. ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/canadian-elite-basketball-league-announces-second-territory-2239771.htm
  7. ↑ Puchalski, Bernie (22 November 2017). "New pro basketball team coming to Niagara - BP Sports Niagara".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.