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NBL Canada St. John's Edge

Edge Issue Statement on New Professional Basketball Team

July 15, 2021 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
St. John's Edge News Release


St. John's, Newfoundland - Atlantic Sports and Entertainment is shocked and disappointed to learn that the City of St. John's and St. John's Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has announced that a tentative deal has been reached with 2001 Investments Limited to bring a new professional basketball team to Mile One Centre this fall.

Our loyal fanbase deserved better, and after three successful seasons of being an anchor tenant at Mile One Centre, where we lead the National Basketball League of Canada in attendance, we deserved better.

Earlier this year we were instructed by St. John's Sports and Entertainment to come to an agreement on a number of outstanding matters, including a resolution to debts owing on the recently installed 360 LED Board located inside of Mile One Centre. Based on those instructions, we successfully negotiated a structured agreement to transfer the franchise rights of the St. John's Edge Basketball Club to Deacon Sports and Entertainment in an effort to settle those outstanding matters and ensure that the City of St. John's and our devoted fanbase could enjoy the same level of professional basketball, community outreach and unique Canadian rivalries that they were accustomed to within the National Basketball League of Canada. This proposal was delivered to St. John's Sports and Entertainment last week by Deacon Sports and Entertainment, with the full support of Atlantic Sports and Entertainment.

Based on the news today, we strongly believe that St. John's Sports and Entertainment has acted in bad faith throughout this lease negotiation process and never had any intentions to enter into any lease agreement that saw Deacon Sports and Entertainment oversee the operation of the NBL Canada franchise thus misrepresenting our loyal fans and the taxpayers of the City of St. John's by effectively forcing the St. John's Edge and National Basketball League of Canada out of Mile One Centre.

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