CEBL exploring Calgary expansion in coming years after successful second season

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – It has been an up-and-down year for sports fans across Canada with the uncertainty of seasons actually being played.

But even with some delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) was able to complete its second season. The league crowned a champion back in August – the Edmonton Stingers.

After successfully completing the season in a bubble environment in St. Catharine’s, Ont., due to the pandemic, the CEBL still faced a lot of challenges according to commissioner Mike Morreale when they were planning their season in March.

“At that time, we had no idea what the virus was about, we knew as much as everyone else did. So we thought, ‘by May we’d be fine, it’ll clear and away we go.’ But boy were we wrong,” Morreale said.

Canadian Elite Basketball League commissioner Mike Morreale congratulates the champion Edmonton Stingers on Aug. 9, 2020. (Credit: CEBL)

With all the hard work put in, the season almost didn’t get underway.

“From the third week in March, up until we tipped off July 25, we were working on getting the approval to play,” he said. “And we literally got the approval to play on the day of the game about two hours before tip-off, so you can imagine the stress level that was going on.”

FULL INTERVIEW with CEBL commissioner Mike Morreale

And with a young league looking to gain momentum, Morreale wanted to prove they could hold another season.

“We rallied together with our Summer Series and it really was a tremendous success for us, not just from a brand awareness point of view or putting the players on the court or just showing we could do it. Just proving to our staff and to everybody that we’re for real and we can fight through these adversities and come out on top,” he said.

Now the champion Edmonton Stingers could potentially have a provincial rival in the future.

“Definitely our internal discussions that Calgary is definitely on the list,” said Morreale. “They’re one of the places we would like to get to sooner than later. I anticipate in 2022 we’ll probably announce a handful of teams to get to a 10-team league.”

Could pro-basketball be on its way to #YYC? Had a great discussion with @CEBLeague commissioner @mikemorreale18 about that possibility and details about what to look forward to in 2021 this Sunday on @660NEWS pic.twitter.com/P7Ev4IhkNe

— steve seto (@steveseto) December 18, 2020

Although there is great optimism, it is not a sure thing.

“I’m not sure it’s at that point that I can forecast it, but certainly from our point of view as a league we’re excited about going to Calgary and the natural rivalries that are created there with Edmonton and just the proximity with them and the other teams,” he added.

And the new arena in Calgary could play a factor, but isn’t a deal breaker.

“We haven’t had any detailed conversations about the new venue in Calgary, but we’re certainly well aware of it. But we’re also looking at the other venues or pseudo venues that are in town to say, ‘hey, can this work in an interim basis? Or could it work in a prolonged basis?'”

The league has built a strong relationship with Canada Basketball and partnering with Canadian NBA alumni to help grow the league and game at a grassroots level.

Morreale hopes to play the 2021 season under near-normal conditions and in front of limited capacity for fans, but understands things are changing rapidly with the ongoing pandemic.