Professional basketball is coming to Calgary.
Calgary has landed the relocating Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the league has confirmed.
“Calgary has been one of our target markets for a long time and relocating a franchise from our smallest market to Canada’s third-largest city will allow the team to remain financially competitive as our league continues to experience tremendous growth,” Mike Morreale, Commissioner and Co-Founder of the CEBL, said in a release.
“Several potential ownership groups have expressed an interest in bringing a team to Calgary, but none has been able to meet our criteria for ownership. The league will continue to own and operate this franchise as we do nine of our 10 teams until a qualified individual or group emerges.”
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Calgary is Canada’s third-largest city and fifth-largest media market, and minor basketball enrolment in Calgary has more than doubled in the past seven years, according to the CEBL.
Rod Peterson, based in Regina, tweeted the breaking report Monday.
The Nighthawks posted a 10-10 record and finished seventh in the 10-team CEBL. They posted an overall record of 25-37 (.403) during the franchise’s four seasons.
The team, which will be rebranded with a new nickname, logo, and colours this fall, will play out of WinSport. WinSport has previously held basketball events at Markin MacPhail Centre, including the Edmonton Stingers of the CEBL.
The CEBL, which launched in 2018, is a 10-team summer league with clubs spanning six provinces and teams in Langley, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Ottawa, St. Catharines, Guelph, Scarborough, and St. John’s.
It is the largest pro sports league in Canada, according to its website. It also has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with Canadians composing 71% of rosters. Those rosters contain players with experience in the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA, and U SPORTS.
Further expansion in the planning stages, too, the league said.
The Hamilton Honey Badgers are the league’s reigning champion, beating the Scarborough Shooting Stars 90-88 to claim the 2022 CEBL title.