London Third City in Three Days to Join NBL
The John Labatt Centre, home of the London NBL Franchise
“Mayor Fontana and the London city council were extremely aggressive and supportive in welcoming professional basketball to the city,” says Levingston. “They truly understand what professional sport will mean for their local economy and for their community. If we receive the kind of support across Canada that the city of London has shown us, I have no doubt that this will one day be the most successful league in North America and one of the best places to play in the world.”
Levingston says that he could not be more excited about having the London ownership group consisting of Vito Frijia and Taylor Brown associated with the National Basketball League of Canada.
“Mr. Frijia and Mr. Brown are two very successful businessmen who have been involved in the sport of basketball for years. We’re looking forward to having their expertise and passion on board for many years to come.”
Frijia and Brown also applaud London city council’s support in bringing professional basketball to the region.
“As a life-long fan of the game of basketball I take great pride in bringing this great sport to London,” says Frijia. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Joe Fontana, John Winston (General Manager of Tourism London) and London city council who have been extremely supportive and instrumental in bringing this franchise to life.”
“We are extremely excited about the launch of the National Basketball League of Canada and our London team,” says Taylor. “We have already received a tremendous amount of interest and support from the community as a whole and the local basketball fans.”
London joins Oshawa and Prince Edward Island franchises which were formally approved by the league earlier this week. The three new franchise bring the totla number of team NBL franshises to six, joining Halifax, Saint John and Quebec City.
Moncton has been listed as having the third overall draft pick, but has not been formally accepted into the league as of yet. Barrie and Kingston ON, were originally slated to get franchise but were unable to meet the requirements.
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