For the second year in a row, a professional basketball league is promising to set up shop in Waterloo Region.
Organizers of the latest effort say one important thing is different this time around – unlike the Canadian Basketball League, which never got off the ground, they’ll follow through.
“Our league is already established, and we’re doing really well,” National Basketball League commissioner David Magley said in an interview.
“There’s no reason to believe that there’s not going to be an amazing, successful franchise here.”
The NBL has already completed five seasons.
The league is split into two divisions. One contains five teams from Atlantic Canada. The other, which will include the local entry, is comprised of teams from southern Ontario – London, Windsor, Niagara and Orangeville.
Aside from a Dec. 26 tipoff date, few details were announced about the new team – although some of that was by design.
A name-the-team contest has been launched, with people encouraged to send their suggestions for a team name to info@kwnbl.com before mid-July.
A winning name will be selected in early August, with the winner getting tickets to every home game of the new team’s inaugural season.
The team has yet to find a specific home within the region, although Magley said there had been conversations about hosting the games at The Aud.
The team is owned jointly by Ball Construction, InnoSoft Canada and Elmira resident Leon Martin.
“We really hope that this community embraces the new team,” Ball vice-president Cameron Ball told reporters at a media conference announcing the new team.
Ball said he envisioned the team being a “real asset to the community,” suggesting its players could follow in the footsteps of the Kitchener Rangers by speaking to students at local schools.
With reporting by Marc Venema
