BRING A CEBL FRANCHISE BACK TO HAMILTON
- Steve Clark
- Feb 23
- 5 min read
If you are ever looking for one of the great podcasts/YouTube shows, look no further than Sportstline Hosted by CHCH's irreverent, outgoing and well-known Sports Director Clint "Bubba O'Neill". Yes, I've been on the show a few times, but I'd recommend if I'd never been on it because it is truly local to Hamiltonians and features many of the great things going on in sports in Hamilton.
Hamiltonian to the core Mike Morreale was recently on the podcast talking about his exit as Commissioner of the CEBL as well as pretty much all of the brimming potential Steeltown has for sports now that the rechristened TD Coliseum is open for business. Now, Mike truly has had a successful career both as an athlete and a businessman. And he stepped down from his role as CEBL Commissioner in October 2025 after navigating the start up of the league and its subsequent immense growth. He starred for McMaster in football when I called games as a student at the university and then went onto a successful career in the CFL was a partner with popular restaurant chain Philthy McNasty's and worked with the CFLPA. You can check out the interview here https://youtu.be/0O7xXPKdowM?si=JH7jp6_P5-rd1Xwb
Mike's interview with Bubba got thinking about the expanding sports scene/league potential in Hamilton and whether or not a return to the CEBL would work here next year. The schedule is out already for this year and timelines would be incredibly short so 2027 would be the next possible date, if the league wants to look at Hamilton again. While there is tons of upside to the idea, which I'll get into, there are downsides and questions though. Currently the league operates in Niagara, Scarborough, Brampton and Ottawa in Ontario. Does adding Hamilton make the perfect complement, or does it over saturate the market? More importantly, does the league want to work with a market where the league had to pull up stakes already? All viable questions that have to be considered before a return happens.
HISTORY LESSON
Hamilton became one the original franchises in 2019 when the league broke ground and it seemed like a natural fit. The city had a number of thriving basketball programs at the grassroots, high school, college and university level. Talent was abundant through the region and a pro team would be the logical next step. It had been a while since Hamilton had pro basketball. Remember the Hamilton Skyhawks? They had their own song written by Bob Knuckle!
"Here we go, it's the Skyhawks show! Love to see them, fly around the coliseum. Watch them soar, as they score. Come on you Skyhawks, lets go! " Trust me on this. Those were the words and the song was catchy. The league however did not catch on like the song. They had a reasonable amount of success. It was a league built for athletes 6'5 and under and was a great brand of basketball. Ex NBA'er Milt Wagner was one of the "names" that played in Hamilton. The WBL (World Basketball League) had a reasonable amount of success in the 1st year until it suddenly folded. I was a big fan of the league and attended many home games, and even went on two road trips to follow the team. The year after the Skyhawks were reborn in the CBL, but it too was doomed. At the home opener, a friend and I were sitting in the stands and ended up getting recruited to be the official scorers of the game, which is not a good sign when your paying customers get "upgraded" to the scorers table. The team muddled it's way through the season and then mysteriously pulled up stakes and to Edmonton where they played as the Edmonton Skyhawks for the rest of the season.
Even with a somewhat checkered past of professional basketball, Hamilton seemed a good fit for the CEBL. Commissioner Mike Morreale as from Hamilton and well-established basketball executive John Lashway was overseeing things. The quality of basketball promised to be excellent and the Honey Badgers won the CEBL Championship in their first year of existence! The bad luck started soon after. The pandemic took away momentum from not just Hamilton but also the whole league. Still, even with lower attendance, hopes were high. However, the next blow would come in form of much needed renovations to Copps Coliseum, effectively shutting out all of the sports tenants for upwards of two years. The Toronto Rock would ride out the renovations and return to the newly named TD Coliseum but the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL and the Honey Badgers would depart. This article explains all the behind the scenes maneuvering taking place and the Honey Badgers eventual departure. Pay close attention to the quotes from Morreale and Lashway about the clear frustration they felt dealing with the city and those renovating the arena.
It's now 2026 and the CEBL is ready to start another season under new leadership. Ty Mazereeuw is now the President/CEO of the CEBL and he's a 20 year veteran of the sports and entertainment landscape. The league is healthier than ever with 10 teams spanning from Vancouver to Montreal with the East Coast not yet tapped but surely it will be on the horizon. Attendance and revenues are robust, though some markets have had more success than others. The league has a deal with TSN to both stream their games and have Games of the Week on their main network. It certainly is a different time from the treading water days of the pandemic, and a different time in Hamilton.
Even though the restructuring of the arena was at the heart of the Hamilton Honey Badgers dispute with the city, the arena itself has hosted both sports and non-sports events. Basketball is as popular as ever, perhaps even more so with Shae Gilgeous Alexander being proud of his Hamilton roots. SGA is a bonafide super star in the NBA, and an NBA champion. He is now involved with the arena as an investor. What better way to cement his love of his city by pushing forward a return to Hamilton by the CEBL? Of course it's not as easy as attaching a celebrity and hoping fans will come. It takes an incredible amount of work to draw people into a sporting event in the summer in downtown Hamilton where the parking is not exactly the best and there are always questions around the safety around the arena. But the venue can be configured to create an intimate setting and a great basketball atmosphere and attendances in the 5000 range are not out of the realm of possibilities.
It is clear that the TD Coliseum wants to be a destination venue for concerts. At the same time sports will keep the doors open on a regular basis and needs anchor tenants as a venue doesn't make money unless its doors are open and events are being booked. The AHL is long rumoured to be coming to Hamilton starting next year, joining the NLL and the Toronto Rock as sports tenants. What better way to add 12-15 more sports dates at the new venue than with the CEBL, a league still growing?
When the league considers it's next expansion, it should consider a return to Hamilton because in this case you can go home again.
Steve Clark
Steve is an acclaimed broadcaster with a long history with basketball. He's called games on radio and TV at the high school, college, university, pro and international level, including the 2022 U Sports Women's Basketball Final for CBC Sports.
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