Canadian Basketball League picks John Thompson as CEO in Kitchener-Waterloo
Thompson promises strong community ties, with coach announced Nov. 4
Kitchener-Waterloo's Canadian Basketball League team may not yet have a roster, a coach, or even a name — but it now has a CEO.
The Canadian Basketball League introduced John Thompson as the founding CEO for Kitchener-Waterloo's professional basketball team Monday morning. Following the announcement, Thompson said he is excited to help spearhead the development of a truly community-oriented sports team.
"If this was a privately-owned team, it wouldn't appeal to me as much. But because it's community-based, and this is a startup where we're going to involve all aspects of the community, that's the part that appealed to me," Thompson told CBC News. "It'll be on sort of the leading edge of this."
Thompson is no stranger to the local sports community. A longtime resident of Waterloo Region, he spent many years as the CEO of the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area. He was general manager of the highly successful 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup and served twice as president of the Kitchener Sports Association.
CBL starts in late December
The Canadian Basketball League (CBL) was founded in July 2014 by former Toronto Raptors head coach Butch Carter. It is governed by International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules and comprises four Ontario-based teams: Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, Scarborough and Hamilton.
The league's first season will have a 28-game schedule, with three games before the end of this year. The Kitchener-Waterloo team's inaugural season will begin Dec. 18 with a home game against Ottawa at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Tickets are already available for sale on the CBL website, with season passes and group sales soon to come, Thompson said.
Thompson is determined to ensure that the team starts strong and continues to build — in close connection with the community. "I really want it to be 'our' basketball team," Thompson said. "And so let's work together, let's collaborate, and let's have some feeling of engagement with the team so that we're really proud of its successes and glad to have it in our community."
Thompson believes the success of other local community teams like the Kitchener Rangers bodes well for a thriving Kitchener-Waterloo basketball team.
"This community seems to embrace the aspect of community involvement in their high-level sports teams, and that's what we would like to use as models, and build on the success that they have," Thompson said.
No coach, players, name
Neither the coach nor the roster of players has yet been announced for the Kitchener-Waterloo team, which remains unnamed. But Thompson said some of that information will be announced Nov. 4 during an event at Maxwell's Concerts & Events in Uptown Waterloo.
"That night, we're going to be unveiling a couple things. Firstly, we'll be getting closer to a 'name-the-team' contest, and secondly, we're also going to be naming the coach of the Waterloo team that evening," said Thompson.
"We've got a lot of work to do in one week, but we're up for it."