Winnipeg Sea Bears the latest team in growing Canadian Elite Basketball League
Mike Morreale got a pick-me-up with Wednesday's unveiling of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, the newest team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
The league co-founder and commissioner attended the announcement at Canada Life Centre, the home of the NHL Winnipeg Jets that will be a re-configured 4,500-seat venue for the Sea Bears.
Winnipeg is the 10th franchise for the league that has teams in six provinces. It was founded in 2018 with six clubs and began play the following year.
The league has experienced some upheaval the past few months, with two franchises moving and one folding, but Morreale was feeling positive about its future.
"Never been stronger," Morreale said. "It's been a lot of work. We have gone through a lot of growth in a relatively short period of time so managing that growth is important, but today was kind of the final thing we needed to do.
"Everything has fallen into place. We've been excited for this day to come and this league is in a way better place, not only from where the teams are located, but the people that are behind it as well."
Winnipeg businessman and lawyer David Asper is the Sea Bears' owner. He was a partner with the Winnipeg Thunder, a men's pro basketball team that played from 1992-94. The last pro club in the city was the Winnipeg Cyclone (1995-2001).
The Sea Bears name was chosen in honour of the polar bear, whose Latin name, Ursus maritimus, means "sea bear." Manitoba is known for its polar bears at Hudson Bay.
Asper noted the expression of the polar bear logo on the uniform isn't cuddly.
"The look is supposed to be that it's looking at you thinking that it's going to eat you," Asper said with a smile.
He said he wanted to buy a franchise to help grow the game of basketball across the country and aims to host the 2025 CEBL championship.
"This league is about building Canadian basketball and providing a step up so that young people in our country can aspire to play, and actually play and have a pathway to play for Team Canada," Asper said.
The CEBL is partnered with Canada Basketball. Some of its players have also signed contracts with the National Basketball Association.
The league's 14-player roster has a minimum of six homegrown players, a maximum of three Americans, one international player and one from U Sports. Each team's salary cap is $8,000 per game.
Morreale said the CEBL teams would be divided into west and east divisions when the 20-game fifth season kicks off in May 2023.
Western clubs include the Vancouver Bandits, Edmonton Stingers, Calgary Surge, Saskatchewan Rattlers (Saskatoon) and Winnipeg. The eastern teams are the Brampton Honey Badgers, Scarborough Shooting Stars, Ottawa BlackJacks, Niagara River Lions (St. Catharines) and Montreal Alliance.
A string of changes shook up the league after the 2022 season ended in early August.
The league announced the Guelph Nighthawks, playing in the smallest market in the loop, wasn't financially viable enough and the franchise was moving to Calgary. It was renamed the Surge in October.
In September, the club formerly known as the Fraser Valley Bandits was sold and rebranded as the Vancouver Bandits, but will continue to play out of the Langley Events Centre.
The league then decided in early November to suspend operations of the Newfoundland Growlers franchise after only one season in St. John's, N.L. The reason given was that the team's home at Memorial University lacked the amenities needed for a pro league.
Earlier this week, it was announced the reigning champion Hamilton Honey Badgers were relocating permanently and becoming the Brampton Honey Badgers. The league was forced to move the franchise because renovations to Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre were going to close the facility during the 2024 and '25 CEBL seasons.
Morreale said there are talks about future expansion.
"We're still in those discussions," he said. "Certainly, a return to the East Coast is something we're (looking) at, Quebec City or even in proximity to Montreal.
"There are also some other discussions (about) Kelowna, Victoria, Regina. There's a lot of interest, and really it's just about being very selective in where we go and when we go."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.