Halifax Hurricanes

Halifax Hurricanes
2015–16 Halifax Hurricanes season
League	NBL Canada
Founded	2015
History	Halifax Hurricanes (NBL) 2015–present
Arena	Scotiabank Centre
Capacity	11,093
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Team colours	Navy blue, sky blue, white
Head coach	Hugo López
Website	HalifaxHurricanes.ca
Uniforms
Home Away

The Halifax Hurricanes are a professional basketball team playing based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team competes in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) and are a part of the Atlantic Division. The Hurricanes were founded to replace the Halifax Rainmen, who declared bankruptcy in July 2015 ultimately leading the club's folding.

History

Following steadily declining attendance and fallout from the 2015 NBL Canada Finals brawl the Halifax Rainmen folded in July 2015, with owner Andre Levingston citing bankruptcy with the franchise falling into a debt of nearly $700,000.^[1][2] The Rainmen folding disappointed fans and left a void in the Halifax professional basketball market, and the league had lost one of its founding franchises and second largest market. Soon after, efforts began to replace the Rainmen.

On September 3, 2015, it was officially announced that professional basketball would be returning to Halifax. The new ownership group was expanded from just Andre Levingston to a 25 member investors group from the Halifax business community to stabilize ownership and reduce financial risk.^[3] Andre Levingston was named General Manager of Basketball Operations. Hugo López was hired to be the franchise's first head coach, as announced on September 30, 2015.^[4] On October 20, 2015, the franchise unveiled its name, logo, and introduced their head coach. The Hurricanes also announced their first two signings. Former Rainmen member Cliff Clinkscales would be returning to Halifax with newcomer Mike Glover.^[5][6]

In their first season, the Hurricanes won both preseason games, before winning their first ever regular season home game 129-113 against the Moncton Miracles in front of approximately 2,000 fans on December 26, 2015.^[7]

Home arena

The Scotiabank Centre multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The arena has a basketball capacity of 11,093. The Hurricanes share the arena with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The building is next to the World Trade and Convention Centre in Downtown Halifax, at the foot of Citadel Hill and it is the largest arena in Halifax by seating capacity.^[8]

Current roster

Halifax Hurricanes roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G 14 Bennerman, Cameron 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 205 lb (93 kg) 32 – 8 May 1984 F 2 Bowdry, Brandon 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 220 lb (100 kg) 28 – 25 April 1988 G 12 Clinkscales, Cliff (C) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 184 lb (83 kg) 32 – 11 March 1984 F 22 Dixon, Renaldo 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 210 lb (95 kg) 25 – 20 September 1990 G 5 Friesen, Joel 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 195 lb (88 kg) 25 – 13 August 1990 G 25 Gibson, Shane 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 180 lb (82 kg) 26 – 5 January 1990 F 1 Glover, Mike 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 216 lb (98 kg) 29 – 9 January 1987 C 24 Hunt, Kyle 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 229 lb (104 kg) 26 – 31 October 1989 G 7 Johnson, Justin 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 175 lb (79 kg) 27 – 4 November 1988 F Loiselle, Kevin 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 220 lb (100 kg) G 4 Nurse, Ty 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 185 lb (84 kg) 25 – 30 July 1990 F 32 White, Billy 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 235 lb (107 kg) 27 – 26 January 1989	Head coach Hugo López Assistant coach(es) Raúl Rodríguez Pérez Phil Park, Jr. Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: March 21, 2016

See also

• Sports teams in Halifax, Nova Scotia

References

1. Joseph, Rebecca. "Halifax Rainmen file for bankruptcy". Global News. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
2. Lipscombe, Kristen. "Return of pro basketball to Halifax ‘looks promising’". Metro Halifax. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
3. "Professional basketball returning to Halifax for 2015-16 NBLC season with local ownership" (PDF). HalifaxHurricanes.ca. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
4. "Halifax NBL Canada team names Hugo Lopez as Head Coach" (PDF). HalifaxHurricanes.ca. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
5. Lipscombe, Kristen. "'The storm is coming': Local pro basketball club renamed Halifax Hurricanes". Metro Halifax. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
6. Zaccagna, Remo. "Halifax’s new NBL team dubbed the Hurricanes". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
7. "Hurricanes open season with split". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
8. "Facility Information". Scotiabank-Centre.com. Retrieved 22 November 2015.

External links