New pro league eyes city franchise
Canadian Elite Basketball League aims for 2019 tip-off with local team in loop
After lacrosse, after soccer came basketball — which is where Lee Genier found his latest sweet spot Wednesday.
“If my voice sounds a little hoarse, it’s because I’ve been on the phone since seven o’clock this morning,” Genier said late Wednesday morning on the heels of an announcement that the fledgling Canadian Elite Basketball League will make Saskatoon one of six inaugural franchises.
Genier — who was instrumental in the success of the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush when they relocated from Edmonton in the summer of 2015 — is the CEBL’s president and COO of western operations. He’d previously been involved in trying to bring a Canadian Premier League soccer franchise to Saskatoon, but left that initiative last month in favour of the pro hoops league.
“The response I’ve seen today ... it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever seen, to be quite honest,” Genier said. “From launches of Grey Cups (during his CFL days) to when we came to town and launched the Rush, my phone has not stopped buzzing. It’s incredibly encouraging.”
The new league, which says it will begin play in May 2019, also includes franchises in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, Edmonton, Hamilton, Ont., Guelph, Ont., and Ontario’s Niagara Region. Teams are owned by the league, whose chief investor is Ontario businessman Richard Petko. Businessman and former CFL player Mike Morreale is the league’s CEO.
Saskatoon’s history with pro basketball is long and often sordid. Three different teams have played in four different leagues since 1990 with two of those leagues folding in mid-season. The last franchise, the Saskatchewan Hawks, collapsed after the 2002 campaign.
Genier points out those basketball forays happened a long time ago. It’s a new era, he says, and he makes the following bold pronouncement: The new team will sell out SaskTel Centre, which seats just over 15,000.
Genier made the same prediction about the Rush when they first moved into Saskatoon and they did just that.
“There was a lot of skepticism when I first came to town with the Rush and I spent a lot of long hours just going around, trying to sell how exciting the product was going to be,” Genier said. “I don’t think it’s any different this time around. If anything, I have a lot of equity in the market with people delivering on that (promise).
“When I said I was going to sell out the building, I know a lot of people laughed at me and asked if this guy was crazy. It was good to prove everybody wrong and fill up the building.”
The CEBL says teams will include mandated Canadian talent in addition to players from elsewhere. Teams would play 20-game seasons between May and August with an eye toward expanding after the inaugural 2019 campaign.
Genier said the priority for CEBL teams is the same as the Rush: Making game day about more than just the actual contest.
“You’re not going in and selling just basketball,” he said. “You’re going in and selling the experience. Fans nowadays are looking for that. You’re going to have a great product on the floor and have an amazing fan experience around you. We’re going to stick with that model and be very aggressive in doing so.”
Greg Francis, who played with Canada at the 2000 Olympics and went on to coach at the university level, including stints at Alberta and Waterloo, as well as with Canada Basketball, heads up the league’s on-court operations. He’ll lead the CEBL’s coach and player recruitment strategy.
Genier said local management should be in place across the league in the next month, which will then give them a year to launch.
“I want this to be Saskatchewan’s team; another part of the Saskatchewan sports landscape,” he said.
The response I’ve seen today ... it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever seen, to be quite honest.