[Moncton] Centre Avenir Centre | 26.65m |~6 Fl | Completed

[lirette]

Originally Posted by jnaygull

No teams have been announced or tickets have been sold (I don't see the event on Ticketmaster). Plus, there is seemingly no hype about this event and we are only a month and a half away.

My guess it is on the verge of falling through.

You can buy packages through a link on the event website https://am.ticketmaster.com/mec/en/atlanticslam2024

They certainly aren't actively promoting anything much though. I have no inside info but I am guessing 1 or 2 of the teams have fallen through, the schedule doesn't really work unless you have 4 teams so they've decided to just lay low to see if they can find someone else. Unfortunate as I enjoyed last years event as saw it as a big growth opportunity for basketball here, but it doesn't seem to really have the right promoter behind it.

[felip_ars]

I was thinking lately the same as no news for the The Northern Classic (equivalent of the Atlantic Slam but in Laval).

But in the meantime, The Western Slam seems to be going with the teams announced.

https://www.westernslam.ca/

[MonctonRad]

Just a quickie update to put the subject of a new "pro" basketball team in Moncton to bed.

The team will be called the Tri-City Tide (hate the name).
The inaugural season will be played at Crandall University in their 600 seat gymnasium.

Rinky-dink league. Terrible team name. Opting to play in a small university gymnasium, 10 km from the city centre.

This will not go well.

[lirette]

You can apply through eventbrite to try out for the team!

Naming a team in this area "Tri-City" anything reaks of a lack of understanding of this community. No one locally ever calls Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe "Tri-City". Once a year during fireworks you might hear of "Tri-Community" since Riverview is not a city, but culturally it's just not really something you hear used.

I can't say I have much interest in watching professional basketball at Crandall Gym. Had they had some way to run it out of the new arena in Dieppe or even the 4plex id be much more obliged. ..

[jnaygull]

It's too bad that Crandall is so far out of the way, it is a great basketball venue. However, I don't feel that it's a venue built for a pro-level league as there are no ticket booths, concessions stands, etc. I'll go to games because I am a basketball junkie. Still, I have concerns about the team's long-term viability being so far out of the way.

[DoctorNick]

TBL is far from "rinky dink". There are 38 teams in North America and more internationally.

The best way to compare the quality of basketball is to say that it is very similar to AA baseball. There will be players here looking to showcase their talent to prominent professional leagues worldwide. I think building a fanbase in a local university gym instead of hoping to fill the Avenir Centre to 1/4 capacity may be a smart move in the short-term viability of the team.

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Just a quickie update to put the subject of a new "pro" basketball team in Moncton to bed.

The team will be called the Tri-City Tide (hate the name).
The inaugural season will be played at Crandall University in their 600 seat gymnasium.

Rinky-dink league. Terrible team name. Opting to play in a small university gymnasium, 10 km from the city centre.

This will not go well.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by DoctorNick

TBL is far from "rinky dink". There are 38 teams in North America and more internationally.

The best way to compare the quality of basketball is to say that it is very similar to AA baseball. There will be players here looking to showcase their talent to prominent professional leagues worldwide. I think building a fanbase in a local university gym instead of hoping to fill the Avenir Centre to 1/4 capacity may be a smart move in the short-term viability of the team.

I shouldn't have said "rinky-dink." My apologies.

But, this team will have little visibility to the greater community playing out of a varsity gym in a small suburban university. How will they build the hype?

Also, the owner stated they would prioritize local talent over imported American players, so, what will the quality of the product be?

I wish them well, but, I have low expectations. If this franchise fails, then Moncton will have had three dud basketball teams in a row. This will make it difficult for any future teams to be taken seriously.

Moncton is a basketball town. The old Moncton Miracles proved this. They played at the Avenir Centre, and, had a sellable product with a popular mascot and cheerleaders to build fan excitement. I enjoyed going to their games.

This venture just doesn't fill me with much enthusiasm.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I shouldn't have said "rinky-dink." My apologies.

But, this team will have little visibility to the greater community playing out of a varsity gym in a small suburban university. How will they build the hype?

Also, the owner stated they would prioritize local talent over imported American players, so, what will the quality of the product be?

I wish them well, but, I have low expectations. If this franchise fails, then Moncton will have had three dud basketball teams in a row. This will make it difficult for any future teams to be taken seriously.

Moncton is a basketball town. The old Moncton Miracles proved this. They played at the Avenir Centre, and, had a sellable product with a popular mascot and cheerleaders to build fan excitement. I enjoyed going to their games.

This venture just doesn't fill me with much enthusiasm.

I haven't had much enthusiasm for professional basketball in Moncton since 2019. Back in 2019, the Moncton Magic won the NBL Canada Championship in front of over 4000 fans at Avenir Centre over the St Johns Edge (who featured Glen Davis). It was an incredible atmosphere and they had multiple guys who felt like they had star power. They were owned by Jon Manship which gave them some serious legitimacy. They had players like:

Trey Kell - the best player I have seen come through any of the professional leagues roll through Moncton. Worth the price of admisson
Billy White - the most passionate and charismatic player I've watched. A guy who is a villain to other teams fans
Corey Allmond - excellent 3 point shooter and fan favourite. Very interactive with fans

The following season, the Magic started out 19-4, still featuring Allmond and White, they were able to carry over some of the team identity from the previous season after Kell moved onto a higher quality league, something hard to come by. Unfortunately covid-19 cancelled what could have been a back to back championship season.

Since then, the offerings have been difficult to get excited for. The ECBL appeared to be a ponzi scheme, and this new league already has some early red flags to me. If the recruitment for this team is far more focused on local players (former Crandall players?) I am not ready to say this is anywhere similar to AA baseball. I am sure the new owner is a nice person and has good intentions but hyping up him as a guy who owns a couple furniture stores doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

[SevenSquared]

On the one hand, they shouldn't have a problem getting 400+ per game, there's a good amount of people who will support this on principle no matter what. And in such a tiny space it'll create a pretty good atmosphere.

But if they get to the point where they have to scale up and move to Avenir to pay the bills, can they manage to shake off the perception they created among the general public, that this is an unserious semi-pro league with teams playing out of suburban bible college gyms?

[jnaygull]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I shouldn't have said "rinky-dink." My apologies.

But, this team will have little visibility to the greater community playing out of a varsity gym in a small suburban university. How will they build the hype?

Also, the owner stated they would prioritize local talent over imported American players, so, what will the quality of the product be?

I wish them well, but, I have low expectations. If this franchise fails, then Moncton will have had three dud basketball teams in a row. This will make it difficult for any future teams to be taken seriously.

Moncton is a basketball town. The old Moncton Miracles proved this. They played at the Avenir Centre, and, had a sellable product with a popular mascot and cheerleaders to build fan excitement. I enjoyed going to their games.

This venture just doesn't fill me with much enthusiasm.

The Moncton Magic was hardly a dud. It was VERY well run, very entertaining, was a championship team in 2019, and was poised to repeat in 2020, but we all know what happened there. They were drawing very well that season 1,500+ (and growing) and things were on the up and up. They had great ownership with deep pockets and I believe they would have been a contender for years. The lovely COVID years killed that team and ultimately the league. I don't blame the team or the ownership for that.

[MonctonRad]

The Miracles/Magic were fine. Those were the glory years. It is what has happened since which has me concerned.

You want to get me excited? Get a franchise in the CEBL.

They want to put a TBL franchise in Saint Stephen for cripes sake!!!

[jnaygull]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Miracles/Magic were fine. Those were the glory years. It is what has happened since which has me concerned.

You want to get me excited? Get a franchise in the CEBL.

They want to put a TBL franchise in Saint Stephen for cripes sake!!!

Yeah, I get it. The TBL is an "interesting" league from a structural standpoint. I am not sure how that all works with 50-some teams in it. I'll go support the Tide and hopefully it turns out. I can't pin the blame of that last league on this current attempt. I guess I am a hopeless romantic of watching live basketball in Moncton

[felip_ars]

While theres still no updates about Atlantic Slam, looks like the Northern Classic here in Laval has been quietly cancelled.

Instead I just received an email about a presale for a series of games by the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets's farm team); 2 in January, 2 in February and 2 in March at Place Bell.

Moncton could take a look in the future for something similar, but with the Maine Celtics. They are currently playing in a 3000 seats arena, so im sure having the opportunities to get a bigger crowd for a few games would be an interesting options.

As for Atlantic Slam, I've checked the Big South Conference schedule, and two teams that doesnt have any games during the proposed Atlantic Slam weekend: Charleston Southern's Buccaneers and the UNC Asheville's Bulldogs (2023 Big South Champion), so I guess those two were the two potential Big South teams

In the meantime, Atlantic Slam W tickets are going on sale today with 3 teams (Ole Miss dropped off of the tournament).

Tournament Pass Pricing(for 3 games):
Bench $222,
Courtside $160,
Center Court Bowl (Sect 6 to 8, 18 to 20) $109,
Bowl (Sect 1 to 5, 9 to 17, 21 to 24) Adult $59, Student $34

[felip_ars]

Speaking of Atlantic Slam

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...ment-1.7345199

"On Ice Entertainment is run by Canadian sports entrepreneur John Graham. He did not respond to requests for information about this story or about apparent planning problems with this year's Atlantic Slam.

As of last week, no U.S. college basketball teams had yet been announced as coming to Moncton, despite New Brunswick tourism officials travelling to Arizona to ensure top teams were recruited.

Atlantic Slam is scheduled to begin on Nov. 15.

A similar event being held in Lethbridge, Alta., in late November by On Ice Entertainment, called Western Slam, announced its four U.S. college teams in June."