CEBL is the latest hoop dream
The sports business minds behind Canada’s newest sports startup, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, are betting they can cultivate a loyal and lucrative following for a domestic minor league pro hoops circuit.
Never mind that the National Basketball League of Canada, with teams in Ontario and the Maritimes, already fills that market niche.
And never mind the series of pro circuits that have popped up and flamed out trying to sell sub-NBA quality basketball to Canadian sports fans.
Wednesday morning, the CEBL leadership released the details surrounding their inaugural season, set to tip off next May. The circuit will be made up of six teams, operated locally but owned by the league, with 12-man rosters that include a minimum of six Canadian players.
CEO Mike Morreale says in the 12 months preceding Wednesday’s announcement, executives studied other leagues to learn both best practices and pitfalls, and says basketball’s steady growth presents an attractive business opportunity.
“We knew that, if done properly, we could create a league that could rival the international leagues,” said Morreale, who spent 12 years as a CFL receiver. “Canada’s the best place to live in the world, but there was a real vacancy in a true, Canadian basketball league. I tip my cap to the organizations that have come before us. It’s an uphill battle.”
CEBL leadership thinks the new circuit, which will include teams in Hamilton, Guelph and St. Catharines, can convert Canada’s growing basketball presence — opening day NBA rosters featured 12 Canadians — into a sustainable business.
Wednesday’s announcement cited a 2014 study by the Solutions Research Group that ranked basketball as Canada’s second-most popular youth-participation sport, trailing only soccer.
The idea of a domestic league that incubates homegrown talent appeals to stakeholders beyond the CEBL.
“It’s always a great thing when more people are able to play basketball in Canada,” said Basketball Canada CEO Michael O’Keefe in a news release. “I applaud (their) efforts.”
But turning this project into an appealing product presents a stiff challenge for the CEBL. And distinguishing the CEBL from other minor leagues could prove just as daunting.
The Raptors 905 have spent three season attracting fans to Mississauga for G League games, trading on their connection to the NBA and showcasing upwardly-mobile players who, like Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam, might graduate to the Raptors.
Since 2011, the NBL Canada has carved out a middle-class existence in mid-sized eastern Canadian cities. The league no longer fields teams in the GTA, but the London Lightning averaged nearly 4,300 spectators this season.
But the 10-team league still grapples with franchise turnover. Teams in Orangeville and Moncton, N.B. folded after last season, with a re-branded Moncton club playing under new ownership.
The CEBL already enjoys a complicated, commingled relationship with NBL Canada — lead investor Richard Petko also owns an NBL Canada franchise in St. Catharines. But Morreale says the league’s May-through-August schedule will distinguish it from marketplace competitors. He also says the league will invest in talent, hoping to attract the type of upper second-tier pros who currently play in top European or Asian leagues.
“It’ll be a competitive salary,” Morreale said, without specifying the league’s salary cap. “To attract high-end talent, you have to spend money but at the same time we’re going to have some sort of limit.”
While CEBL posters published online feature a picture of a DJ, and hint that they’re peddling a party atmosphere alongside basketball, veteran sports business consultant Brian Cooper recommends prioritizing the sport.
Morreale says the league is weighing digital broadcast options, but Cooper points out that online viewership won’t generate much revenue in the league’s first season. He says the league will need to make the bulk of its money on ticket sales, and that ownership needs to prepare to lose money for at least three seasons.
“If the quality of play is not there, the ticket sales aren’t going to be there — you can do all the community service you want,” said Cooper, CEO of MTKG Canada. “Now you’re competing against the rest of the world … Are they going to be able to afford to get these players? Are they quality players? Can they stick? And can they sell tickets?”
Southern Ontario has seen several failed attempts at minor-league pro basketball.
The Ontario Professional Basketball Association began play in 2004, touting a highprofile signing (former Raptor Acie Earl) and quirky rules (slam dunks earned three points), but the seven-team circuit folded midway through its only season.
Three years ago, former Raptors coach Butch Carter touted his vision for the Canadian Basketball League, which included franchises nationwide and a long-term TV deal with Hamilton-based CHCH. But in late 2016, he unveiled a scaled-down version of that league, with just four teams and time-buy deal on YES TV.
The CBL dissolved after one season.