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New basketball team coming to Abbotsford

The Canadian Elite Basketball League announces Fraser Valley as second franchise
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Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley has been announced as the second team in the new Canadian Elite Basketball League.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League is coming to Abbotsford.

The brand-new professional league announced the Fraser Valley as its second team on Tuesday, and plans are to play the club’s inaugural season out of the Abbotsford Centre.

The franchise joins Guelph, which was revealed as the league’s first team last week.

The team’s name is set to be announced at a later date, and a director of operations will be hired in the coming weeks.

“One of our goals is to bring entertaining, professional basketball to venues across Canada,” stated the CEBL’s communications coordinator Mario Brazina in a press release . “Western Canada has been lobbying for professional basketball since the loss of its Vancouver Grizzlies in 2001. We are extremely excited to fill this void, by bringing a team back to the west coast.”

Brazina added that the league wants the Abbotsford-based team to represent the entire Fraser Valley.

“This team in Fraser Valley will be one for all of the region’s fans to call their own,” he said. “The Fraser Valley is a vibrant and rapidly growing region that we are excited to be a part of.”

Andrew Nash, the general manager of the Abbotsford Centre, said he’s eager to welcome the new team.

“We’re excited to welcome the CEBL to the Abbotsford Centre. The sport of basketball continues to grow in the community and throughout the Fraser Valley region, with competitive high school and University programs. At the end of the day, it’s another opportunity to grow the sport of basketball in the region, while further expanding upon our robust event schedule during the summer months.”

League officials have yet to announce a start date for the league’s inaugural season.

In the coming months, more announcements will be made regarding plans for the Fraser Valley team.

For more, visit cebl.ca.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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