Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01
I'm hoping that all teams can do well and we can have a healthy league here. Hopefully we can see it grow coast to coast in the future. Thanks for representing The Edge as it was all Moncton until now.
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Not to be a negative Nelly but coast to coast growth for the NBL(C) will be difficult, as there is now a competing league (the Canadian Elite Basketball League) which is cornering the territory in western Canada, limiting growth potential for the NBL. The CEBL in fact
stole one of the NBL teams this year (the Niagara River Lions). The CEBL will begin play in May 2019.
Current cities in the CEBL are Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Guelph, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Abbotsford BC.
Obviously the battleground between the NBL and the CEBL will be Ontario. Whichever league establishes dominance in the Ontario market is the one which will survive. The NBL can't survive in just the Maritimes.
These are troubled times for the NBL. The threat in Ontario from the CEBL is real. Several NBL teams are dealing with attendance issues and difficult financial situations.
Obviously the best thing that could happen would be a merger between the two leagues. A strong nationwide second tier basketball league with 20-24 teams would be ideal. Such a situation would remove any concerns regarding league viability, and would allow individual teams to plan for their own ongoing long term viability.
Let's hope this is what happens.