Canadian Basketball League (CBL)?

National Basketball League of Canada

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IceManLikeGervin
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Canadian Basketball League (CBL)?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:58 am

Click link for full article: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/G ... story.html

EDMONTON - Professional basketball could be coming back to Edmonton for the 2014-15 season if the upstart Canadian Basketball League has its way.

Two months after the Edmonton Energy of the International Basketball League announced they would be ceasing operations for the 2013 season, positive news for basketball fans is expected to be announced Wednesday when an Ontario-based group makes public its desire to start a new Canadian league.

Mississauga sports marketing firm Cosmos Sports, which was contracted initially by a trio of investors — Robert Smeenk, Thomas Smeenk, and Greg Nelson — to gauge interest and pursue potential ownership groups for a new league, is set to make the announcement.

Cosmos Sports business development co-ordinator Anthony Vella expressed Tuesday there has been significant interest from upwards of a dozen parties across the country about potential ownership.

That list includes a host of Canadian NHL teams, including the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. According to Vella, the Oilers and have expressed “a lot of interest” based on preliminary discussions.

Basketball Alberta executive director Paul Sir, who has been a key supporter of the league, for one is excited about the potential an eight to 10 team league would have with respect to bringing pro basketball back to not only the provincial capital, but other markets across the country. Teams would be split into two divisions that would only face off during playoffs.

The only markets off the table will likely be those in the Maritimes, where National Basketball League of Canada franchises currently reside, as both Vella and Sir confirmed there would be no ties with the NBL.

“I know they’re looking for good penetration in the major markets and some of the specialty markets across Canada. In other words, it doesn’t have to be in Vancouver, it could be in an outlying area in B.C. It could be a place like Kelowna, a place like Saskatoon and Regina. Heck, it could be a Red Deer and a Lethbridge.

“I’m excited that they’re finally coming out with it,” explained Sir, who’s worked with Vella in gauging interest, particularly in Western Canada. END

joescudda
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Post by joescudda » Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:49 pm

great, just want Canada needs...a fragmented approach to professional basketball. This is not a winning solution.

Find a way to work together with the NBLC....Have a Pacific and a Praire conference to go with ontario and the maritimes. I like the idea of secondary markets...wherever a CHL team plays, there is a suitable arena.

just work together!

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL Group Approached NBL About Working Together

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:46 am

That (work together) makes too much common sense......but common sense isn't all that common especially where egos & greed are involved.....smh

Click link for full article: http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/113 ... ZF.twitter

A group hoping to establish another minor professional hoops league in Canada approached the National Basketball League of Canada about joining forces before setting out on its own.

NBL president Andre Levingston says he and other NBL leaders had talks with the principals behind a new Canadian loop aiming to get off the ground next year. But philosophical differences scuttled any possibility of a union.

Cosmos Sports of Mississauga, Ont., announced Tuesday it’s seeking at least eight franchises for an entity called the Canadian Basketball League to begin play in the fall of 2014.

“They approached us about working together,” Levingston said Wednesday. “We listened to what their proposal was and we didn’t feel that we shared the same vision. We told them good luck but we have no interest.”

In a release Tuesday, the Mississauga sports marketing firm said Winnipeg was one of the cities it was targeting for a franchise. A report in the Edmonton Journal suggested Edmonton, Calgary and other western cities were also on the CBL’s radar and that teams would employ six to nine Canadian players. END

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

NPH- Is There Room In Canada For 2 Pro Leagues?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:23 pm

Click link for article & to vote: http://northpolehoops.com/2013/06/13/np ... l-leagues/

There is the NBLC, a minor hoops league entering it’s third year in November with 10 franchises established Within Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

And there is reportedly another basketball league on it’s way, “focusing on Canadian players and developing a successful Canadian league along the lines of what you’d see in Europe and Australia” END


Image

joescudda
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Joined:Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:41 pm

Re: CBL Group Approached NBL About Working Together

Post by joescudda » Thu Jun 13, 2013 4:22 pm

IceManLikeGervin wrote:That (work together) makes too much common sense......but common sense isn't all that common especially where egos & greed are involved.....smh

Click link for full article: http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/113 ... ZF.twitter

A group hoping to establish another minor professional hoops league in Canada approached the National Basketball League of Canada about joining forces before setting out on its own.

NBL president Andre Levingston says he and other NBL leaders had talks with the principals behind a new Canadian loop aiming to get off the ground next year. But philosophical differences scuttled any possibility of a union.

Cosmos Sports of Mississauga, Ont., announced Tuesday it’s seeking at least eight franchises for an entity called the Canadian Basketball League to begin play in the fall of 2014.

“They approached us about working together,” Levingston said Wednesday. “We listened to what their proposal was and we didn’t feel that we shared the same vision. We told them good luck but we have no interest.”

In a release Tuesday, the Mississauga sports marketing firm said Winnipeg was one of the cities it was targeting for a franchise. A report in the Edmonton Journal suggested Edmonton, Calgary and other western cities were also on the CBL’s radar and that teams would employ six to nine Canadian players. END
thats too bad...curious to know how they differ on vision.

IceManLikeGervin
Posts:36744
Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL To Focus On Developing Canadian Talent

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:21 pm

Click link for full article: http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/13/propo ... nal-talent

A new basketball league may be forming in Canada, but it has no plans to post up against with the London Lightning or any other NBL of Canada teams.

The proposed Canadian Basketball League will focus primarily on developing Canadian talent and will have divisions out west and in Ontario, should it get off the ground (it looks to start in the fall of 2014. Prospective owners are being invited to Edmonton for a meeting in mid-July to assess the viability of going forward.

A group of potential investors, including Londoners Rob and Thomas Smeenk, approached Mississauga-based sports marketing form Cosmos Sports about a year ago to gauge the interest of a new league as well as pursue potential ownership groups, Anthony Vella, co-ordinator of business operations for Cosmos, said Thursday.

“We sat down and decided the best way to proceed was a feasibility study. That took about six months and we interviewed anybody and everybody connected to basketball in Canada,” he said. “We came to the conclusion there was an appetite for a Canadian league.”

As of yet, the would-be league has no actual franchise locations, Vella said.

“It’s not about specific markets right now,” he said. “Right now, it’s about finding the owners with the right financial IQ, who understand the business side of sports as just as important as the playing side, and who have the patience to see this thing through.”

Vella said the proposed league, with a minimum of eight teams, would not be in direct competition with NBL franchises in Ontario – there are five heading into Season 3, with Windsor, Brampton, Mississauga (formerly Oshawa) and Brampton joining London for the 2013-14 season.

“It makes absolutely no sense to go head-to-head with NBL markets,” Vella said. “Logically and business-wise, it makes no sense at all.”

The new league would see between six and nine Canadian players per squad and will have to have a head coach, director of ticket sales and a director of corporate sponsorships in place, Vella added. END

IceManLikeGervin
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Fort McMurray Site For New CBL Team?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:22 pm

Click link for full article: http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2013/0 ... t-mcmurray

Right now it looks like a long shot, but in the next couple of years Fort McMurray could have a professional basketball team.

On Wednesday, Ontario based sports marketing firm Cosmos Sports announced its intention to start a new professional league, called the Canadian Basketball League, to begin operations for the 2014-15 season. Right now Cosmos Sports is gauging interest from potential ownership groups and Fort McMurray is one of the markets in consideration, if a suitable ownership group comes forward.

“It would be a viable market,” said Anthony Vella, business operations coordinator for Cosmos Sports. “We know there have been discussions on a new arena, but we would not say no to any market if an ownership group comes to us and says ‘we think we can make this market work' then we wouldn’t have any objections as long as the ownership group meets our criteria.”

Vella said any potential ownership group would need “financial and marketing acumen,” a good location and a passion for basketball.

Cosmos Sports were contacted initially by three investors – Robert Smeenk, Thomas Smeenk and Greg Nelson – to study the feasibility of the league and pursue potential ownership groups. They haven’t decided how many teams would play or what cities they will be in, but they are looking for a minimum of eight teams. END

joescudda
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Post by joescudda » Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:30 am

Curious to know the costs involved in flipping a hockey arena into a basketball court...IceMan - can you find me a link for that?

Alot of Small town CHL rinks (-5000k) could be a good fit...their love for basketball might not be there but, hopefully that can change if Antoine Walker comes to town...

IceManLikeGervin
Posts:36744
Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL In Moose Jaw?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:54 pm

Ice Rink To Basketball Court Changeovers

Staples Center: http://www.core77.com/blog/interiorexhi ... _22530.asp

Toronto ACC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uFt-wEj7jY

Arco Arena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d1DSj1Hrcw


Click link for full article: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/2013-06 ... n-Canada/1

Professional basketball could be coming to Moose Jaw if the Canadian Basketball League (CBL) has it their way.

An Ontario-based group is looking for interested ownership groups to set up franchises in a new Canadian league that would be based in the west.

Cosmos Sports, a sports marketing firm from Mississauga as well as three investors — Robert Smeenk, Thomas Smeenk and Greg Nelson finished a feasibility study about six months ago and from that, many people are interested in bringing basketball to Western Canada.

“We are really excited and we have a very good feeling about the Canadian Basketball League, especially in Western Canada. There is a real appetite and there is a lot of interest,” said Cary Kaplan, president of Cosmos Sports Inc. “We are driving this by interest and there seems to be a high level of excitement in Western Canada.”

The CBL is seeking for a minimum of eight groups or individuals that would be interested in owning a franchise in the League that would begin play in the fall of 2014. END

joescudda
Posts:752
Joined:Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:41 pm

Re: CBL In Moose Jaw?

Post by joescudda » Sat Jun 15, 2013 12:04 am

IceManLikeGervin wrote:Ice Rink To Basketball Court Changeovers

Staples Center: http://www.core77.com/blog/interiorexhi ... _22530.asp

Toronto ACC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uFt-wEj7jY

Arco Arena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d1DSj1Hrcw


Click link for full article: http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/2013-06 ... n-Canada/1

Professional basketball could be coming to Moose Jaw if the Canadian Basketball League (CBL) has it their way.

An Ontario-based group is looking for interested ownership groups to set up franchises in a new Canadian league that would be based in the west.

Cosmos Sports, a sports marketing firm from Mississauga as well as three investors — Robert Smeenk, Thomas Smeenk and Greg Nelson finished a feasibility study about six months ago and from that, many people are interested in bringing basketball to Western Canada.

“We are really excited and we have a very good feeling about the Canadian Basketball League, especially in Western Canada. There is a real appetite and there is a lot of interest,” said Cary Kaplan, president of Cosmos Sports Inc. “We are driving this by interest and there seems to be a high level of excitement in Western Canada.”

The CBL is seeking for a minimum of eight groups or individuals that would be interested in owning a franchise in the League that would begin play in the fall of 2014. END
Like A Boss. Your a good man Ice. I doubt small venues can flip a court with the labour they have in same amount of time. Well maybe thats obvious but....I wonder how capable say Moose Jaw would be in flipping the ice to a court.

I'm gonna say this league fails...judging by their website adn who they are this league will stink. At least that Levingston (NBLC) guy seems to have a genuine desire to grow basketball, whereas this Cosmos sees to predicate their venture on biz oppurtunity. I think the former wins out all the time.

IceManLikeGervin
Posts:36744
Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

Can Canada Double Dribble?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Sat Jun 15, 2013 2:20 am

Click link for full article: http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/06/ ... e-dribble/

Is Canada big enough for two pro basketball leagues?

Anthony Vella thinks the answer is yes. Andre Levingston says it’s no.

Vella is business development co-ordinator for Cosmos Sports, a Mississauga-based company working with investors Robert Smeenk, Thomas Smeenk and Greg Nelson on a bid to start the Canadian Basketball League in the fall of 2014.

That group issued a media release Wednesday saying that it was seeking a minimum of eight “like-minded groups or individuals) who were interested in owning CBL franchises. A meeting of prospective owners would be held, it added, at Edmonton in mid-July.

The statement went on to say the league would have two divisions, with interdivisional play only during the playoffs. A report in Wednesday’s Edmonton Journal ( http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/G ... story.html ) said CBL roster rules would require between six and eight Canadian players on each roster, and each team would have a salary cap of $150,000.

Coincidentally, that’s the same salary cap for teams in Levingston’s National Basketball League of Canada, which this fall will begin its third season with 10 teams, including the brand new Ottawa SkyHawks.

In its first season, the NBL required all teams to have at least two Canadians on their rosters, and for 2012-13 that number rose to three. Levingston said Wednesday that the roster rules were already on the agenda for a league owners’ meeting on June 21. END

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL In Saskatoon?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:47 am

Click link for full article: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/ba ... story.html

The Canadian Basketball League is the latest in a long string of professional hoops circuits casting curious eyes towards Saskatchewan.

The proposed league, which is gauging ownership interest before deciding whether to proceed in time for the 2014-15 season, says it would like to hear from people interested in owning a team in either Saskatoon or Regina. Projected budgets are $2 million per season.

"We're on the phones and taking calls and seeing if there's interest from more parties than the ones we've spoken to at this point," says Anthony Vella, the business operations co-ordinator for Cosmos Sports, a sports-management firm based out of Mississauga. "We're pounding the pavement."

Vella says the only Saskatchewan contact he's made so far is with Basketball Saskatchewan.

Cosmos Sports is looking into the new league through the instigation of investors Greg Nelson, Robert Smeenk and Thomas Smeenk.

Vellas says they're looking for investors from B.C. to as far away as Quebec, though most of the interest, he says, has come from "Manitoba-west." He says they'd be interested in partnerships with NHL and CHL teams. END

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL In Kamloops?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:00 am

Click link for full article: http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/2013 ... oop-dreams

Professional basketball in Kamloops?

The men behind CNBA Inc. and Cosmos Sports Inc. believe it could work in the form of the Canadian Basketball League.

First, though, they need to find some investors.

"We do have a business plan," Anthony Vella, the business operations co-ordinator for Cosmos Sports, a sports management firm that is based in Mississauga, said Monday afternoon. "We have put together a feasibility study over the last year . . . on the future of basketball and if a Canadian basketball league would work."

According to Vella, that study found that the "biggest appetite" for basketball was in the four western provinces.

"We're pounding the pavement looking for interested parties," Vella stated, adding that there has been some interest "from some CHL teams and some NHL teams."

No, they haven't yet heard from anyone in Kamloops. He added that there haven't yet been any commitments from elsewhere, but there has been "a lot of interest."

"They have to meet our criteria for ownership," Vella said. "The ownership is much more important to us than the market itself."

Cosmos Sports is hopeful of holding a meeting of potential investors in Edmonton in the latter part of July. END

joescudda
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Post by joescudda » Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:17 am

in the article, Vella projects 4k fans per game...would be great to see, but not sure basketball is ingrained into some of these communities enough.

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

CBL Doomed To Fail?

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:46 pm

You have to have a sound business plan to implement and 4,000 fans most likely fit the amount of fans needed per game in order to be able to build up the CBL.....will they get that many......time will tell....


Click link for full article: http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/20/colum ... to-failure

The fishing expedition that is supposed to be the Canadian Basketball League is doomed to failure.

If you haven’t heard about the league, don’t feel badly. It really isn’t a league yet since they have no teams and have announced there is a league so they can use the media as a giant want ad in hopes of attracting owners with money.

Good luck with that.

The almost-league is the brain-child of Anthony Vella, business operations co-ordinator for Cosmos Sports, a Mississauga, Ont.-based sports marketing company and CBL investor/founders Thomas and Robert Smeenk, from London, and Greg Nelson.

The league is supposed to start for the 2014-15 season.

The new CBL is looking to operate with salary cap of $150,000, the same as the established National Basketball League of Canada. They want a minimum six to nine Canadians on each roster. It would be a glorified university basketball league and while university basketball is terrific, it isn’t professional basketball.

The established NBL is entering its third year of operation. Teams must have a minimum three Canadians per team.

Even though the local NBL London Lightning has proven successful on and off the floor, the league remains a difficult sell.

The blueprint for the yet-to-be-established CBL is somewhat gray.

“This league would be to develop Canadian talent,” Vella has been quoted as saying. “There would be six to nine Canadian players per team. It would be for guys not making top dollar in Europe.”

Peel away the dressing from that comment (Rob Smeenk should know about peeling away since he was the former proprietor of the Fabulous Forum strip club in London) and you’ll get to the biggest mistake the CBL can make and the NBL is making right now.

It should be about competing to attract the top Canadian players from Europe.

That means more money for Canadians of course. It’s something the NBL needs to do to solidify its position in Canada. END
Last edited by IceManLikeGervin on Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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