The question moves from 'will the St. John's Edge play?' to 'where will they play?' (original) (raw)
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The question moves from 'will the St. John's Edge play?' to 'where will they play?'
Growlers owners acquire rights to the National Basketball League of Canada team, but with Mile One out of the picture, they need to find a new home
Brendan Mccarthy, PNI Atlantic
Published Sep 10, 2021 • Last updated Sep 11, 2021 • 3 minute read
This is the image that accompanied the Twitter post that announced the St. John's Edge will play in the NBLC this coming season. — twitter/@stjohnsedge Photo by Twitter image /Twitter image
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. If this pace of announcements keeps up, St. Johns will be waist-deep in professional sports franchises.
On Friday afternoon, the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) board of directors announced it has approved a deal in principle that will see Deacon Sports and Entertainment purchase the rights of the NBLCs St. John’s Edge from Atlantic Sport Enterprises Ltd (ASE).
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Deacon Sports, whose chairman is St. Johns businessman Dean MacDonald, also owns the ECHLs Newfoundland Growlers, who recently signed a three-year renewal to play out of Mile One Centre.
On Wednesday, the City of St. Johns, which operates Mile One through St. Johns Sports and Entertainment (SJSE), revealed it had finalized a lease agreement with 2001 Investments, which will operate an American Basketball Association team out of the downtown facility with an inaugural-season schedule that will start in late November.
In doing so, they supplant the Edge, who plan to play, but havent announced a venue.
In this January file photo, Karrington Ward of the St. John’s goes high to score during a National Basketball League of Canada game at Mile One Centre in St. John’s. The Edge performed well on the court and at the gate during their first three seasons, but must begin a new era with Mile One Centre no longer available to them. St. John’s Edge photo/Ryan MacLellan
Just a few months ago, there were questions about whether any pro team would be playing in the Newfoundland and Labrador capital during the 2021-22 season The Edge and Growlers were both at an impasse when it came to Mile One lease negotiations with SJSE, and there was no mention of an impending ABA team.
But the scene changed in early summer. During its talks with the city and SJSE, Deacon Sports indicated it was willing to take over operations of the Edge, while settling the basketball teams outstanding debts and obligations, and would submit a new lease proposal based on its owning both franchises.
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However, Deacon was told the city which had ended Mile One exclusivity for both the Growlers and Edge in the spring had already made arrangements for another basketball tenant; soon after, SJSE announced a tentative agreement with 2001 Investments.
That left the Edge without a home, but apparently not out of commission. Even though the transfer of the team to Deacon didnt become official until Friday, there have been recent indications most specifically on social media posts from MacDonald that the transaction would take place.
We are ecstatic to officially share the exciting news that Edge Basketball will return to the region, said MacDonald in an NBLC release announcing the rights transfer. The support and passion that Edge fans have expressed to me over the last couple of months about their team has truly been amazing, their dedication is one of the main reasons why we are so committed for the future of this franchise.
The question now becomes where will the Edge play?
The number of venues in the metro St. Johns with adequate seating capacity and which might be considered basketball-ready is limited. The most obvious facility is Memorial Universitys Field House, which is home to Sea-Hawks mens and womens varsity entries. Theyll each play 10 AUS conference home games in 2021-22 (the women and men play back-to-back contests on the same day. The Field House is also the home digs for Memorials womens volleyball team, which has nine hime games on its 2021-22 AUS schedule. In the case of both sports, all AUS games at the Field House are played on weekends.
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The Edge joined the NBLC in 2017 and proved to be one of the leagues more successful entries, both in terms of attendance and performance, with winning records each season. They got to the division final in 2018, made it to the league final the following season before losing to the Moncton Magic, and were in second place when the 2019-20 season was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the fall of 2019, the Edge and Growlers jointly reached an understanding with SJSE on new 10-year-lease deals. But the agreements were never finalized, leading to the off-the-rails happenings of earlier this year, when the Edge ownership accused SJSE of acting in bad faith.
Friday’s announcement means the NBLC has seven teams set to play in the upcoming season. NBLC image
However, in Fridays new release, Sabbagh made no mention of the falling out with SJSE.
Were appreciative to the St. Johns community for their support of the Edge from Day 1, he said.We know that the team is in good hands with Deacon Sports and the established tradition of quality basketball will continue for years to come.
With the Edge onboard, the NBLC has a roster of seven teams. Four are in Ontario The London Lightning, K-W (Kitchener-Waterloo) Titans, Windsor Express and Sudbury Five. The other two are in the Maritimes the Halifax Hurricanes and Island (Charlottetown P.E.I.) Storm. The Magic withdrew from the league in August, although the NBLC still lists Moncton on its website.
The NBLC says it will announce plans for what will be its 10th season in the near future.
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