Could Brantford become home to a high-level basketball team?
Advertisement 2
Article content
That’s one of many questions a city committee will be asking as it reviews current and prospective major sports teams and local facilities.
Article content
“One of those opportunities might be basketball,” Coun. Richard Carpenter said at a recent planning and administration committee meeting. “London has one that plays in their arena downtown and Hamilton doesn’t, so maybe there’s an opportunity for us.”
Carpenter said there is also a top-notch basketball facility next to Six Nations Polytechnic that has been upgraded.
“If you haven’t seen it, I encourage everyone on council to drop in and take a look,” Carpenter said. “I’m sure you’ll be quite impressed with what’s sitting in our community and available for a semi-professional basketball team.”
Advertisement 3
Article content
The basketball facility at Six Nations Polytechnic was once part of the Mohawk College campus on Elgin Street. It is also the former home of the former RISE Centre, an elite basketball high school basketball academy.
Carpenter made the comments as city councilors received as information a report about local major sports teams and facilities. The report calls on the city’s economic development staff to consult with major league sports teams to learn more about their experiences in the city
Economic development staff will also prepare a report detailing the seating capacity, parking review, general overview of the facility as well as any future plans.
City councilors in June formed the major sports team liaison committee to take stock of the teams already operating in Brantford and what sports teams could be lured to the city. The committee will also look at what’s needed to attract teams to the city.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The report, prepared by city staff cites the Basketball Super League that will include teams in Canada and the United States. Current locations for Canadian teams listed in the report as part of the league include Kitchener-Waterloo, London and Windsor.
A reference to the Canadian Elite Basketball League that has teams in Brampton, Niagara and Scarborough is also mentioned in the report.
Other potential teams include university varsity and intramural sports like football, basketball and hockey, Canadian Junior Football League, the Ontario Women’s Soccer League, a semi-professional league with teams in Oshawa, Paris and Guelph.
Meanwhile, as part of the deal to bring the Brantford Bulldogs to the civic center, the city agreed to look at developing a new sports and entertainment facility with a capacity of 5,000 or more than could host major junior hockey.
Advertisement 5
Article content
A report from KKR Advisors Ltd., released in September, said the optimal size for a new facility would be 5,000 to 5,300 fixed seat capacity at a cost of $115-$140 million.
The figures don’t include land and site development costs or parking.
Councilors received a sports and entertainment center update during a special in-camera city council meeting on Nov. 14. It’s possible that decisions from the in-camera session will be made public at the Nov. 28 council meeting.
An in-camera session is a meeting that takes place in private because the issue to be addressed involves a legal matter such as the purchase or sale of property or a personnel issue involving an identifiable municipal employee.
twitter.com/EXPVBall
Article content