Winnipeg is getting back in the pro basketball game.
In a statement Wednesday, the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) — the top minor professional league in the country and the only Canadian league recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) — announced Winnipeg will host a team beginning in the 2023 season.
“With teams in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland, having a CEBL franchise located in Manitoba unifies the geographic reach of Canada’s national pro basketball league,” league commissioner Mike Morreale said.
“Winnipeg is an ideal market with a rich basketball history and a real passion for the game. It has always been a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ we would place a club in Winnipeg.”
The Winnipeg team — which has yet to be named, although the CEBL said information about the name, colours and logo are expected “in the coming weeks — joins the Calgary Surge as the league’s newest franchise.
Montreal’s team, the Alliance, is also a recent addition to the league, playing its first season this year.
Winnipeg was previously home to the Cyclone of the now-defunct International Basketball Association from 1995 to 2001, which came after the Winnipeg Thunder (1992 to 1994) of the World Basketball League, followed by the National Basketball League.
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