Say hello to the Bandits.
The newest franchise in the Canadian Elite Basketball League was officially unveiled on Monday, as the Fraser Valley Bandits entered the professional sporting world.
The team’s name, logo and colours were revealed at a press conference inside the Abbotsford Centre. The new logo is a red fox wearing a bandit mask and the team’s primary colours are set to be orange, blue and white.
The press conference, hosted by broadcaster Jake Elliott, saw short speeches from the Abbotsford Centre’s Andrew Nash, Mayor Henry Braun, CEBL commissioner Mike Morreale and CEBL president Lee Genier.
The Bandits join teams in Edmonton, Hamilton, Guelph, Saskatoon and Niagara.
Morreale said he’s excited to bring professional basketball to the Fraser Valley.
“As a professional basketball league created by Canadians for Canadians, and as leaders in helping develop basketball across our country, we are very excited to have Fraser Valley as a founding member of the Canadian Elite Basketball League,” said Mike Morreale, chief executive officer of the CEBL. “People in this region are passionate about sports and appreciate the role special events play in enhancing the quality of life. The CEBL will deliver a new basketball experience that features world class basketball wrapped in a full entertainment package that will appeal to people of all ages, and to both fans and non-hoops fans as well.”
Genier said the league wants to make every game special.
“The entire region, from Abbotsford to Chilliwack, Hope to Langley, and even northwest Washington is passionate about sports, entertainment, and special events, and people will experience all of that at Fraser Valley Bandits games,” Genier said. “Fans will see the highest caliber of basketball in Canada outside of the Toronto Raptors. All 10 home games will be a major event that blends fast paced professional basketball and an electric atmosphere that will have people returning game after game. This is a new basketball experience in every sense.”
The 7,000-seat Abbotsford Centre will serve as home for the Fraser Valley Bandits.
The league will see the Fraser Valley team compete against the five other clubs from across the country in a 20-game regular season schedule that kicks off in May of 2019, with a playoff and championship series concluding the season in August.
For more on the league, visit cebl.ca.
