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Member: Canadian Elite Basketball League

The Guelph Nighthawks

https://www.thenighthawks.ca

Shelby Vilneff Director,
Marketing, Communications & Events
svilneff​@thenighthawks.ca

1027 - 2/27/2021 5:45:59 AM  

Guelph Nighthawks Announce 2021 Season Schedule

For Immediate Release - February 25, 2021

The Guelph Nighthawks announced on Thursday the club’s 2021 Canadian Elite Basketball League schedule and intent to return to the Sleeman Centre for all home games this season.  

The CEBL will push back the start of the 2021 season from mid-May to June 5 to accommodate the possibility of fans being able to attend the greatest number of games, consequently playing a 14-game rather than a 20-game regular season.  The CEBL has created the regular season schedule in a way that provides the best possible chance to have fans in the stands if permitted by government this season. 

A year ago, the CEBL led the NHL, NBA and later the CPL in returning to play in Canada after the coronavirus shut down the sports world in March. The single-site CEBL Summer Series in St. Catharines, Ont. put professional basketball on the television and digital screens of millions of viewers across Canada and around the world, creating greater access to the game for Nighthawks and CEBL fans.

“We are incredibly proud to announce the schedule for the upcoming 2021 CEBL season, and the Nighthawks return to our home court at the Sleeman Centre. Remarkably, over a 19-month timeframe starting in March of 2020, the CEBL will be the only professional basketball played in Canada, and the Nighthawks will be the first pro sports team in our region to return-to-play at our home venue since last March,” said team President Cameron Kusch. 

“We are a community-focused team. We value the role we play here at home, and returning back to our roots is an incredibly important next step for our club. While the return of our fans to the Sleeman Centre remains under the guidance of the government, the Nighthawks returning to Guelph will allow us to get back to providing an impactful role in our community.”

With uncertainty around government regulations of people attending events, and in recognition that some people may not feel comfortable attending events in 2021, an innovative approach has been created to protect the investment of those who have purchased tickets to Nighthawks games. 

All tickets that have been purchased for the 2020 or 2021 seasons are automatically being moved forward to the 2022 season. If fans are allowed into arenas any time this coming season, ticket holders may choose to draw tickets from their 2022 ticket package to use for any games they wish to attend. There will be no obligation to use any tickets in 2021. All tickets unused this season will remain on account and applied toward the same ticket packages in 2022.

Tickets purchased for the 2020 or 2021 seasons have already received benefits that included a 20 percent credit toward additional tickets and a 25 percent discount on team merchandise. Those benefits are now extended until the end of August 2022.   Additional single-game ticketing details will be announced closer to the start of the season when it is expected there will be more clarity from government and health officials around public gatherings.

The Nighthawks open the 2021 season at home versus the Hamilton Honey Badgers, Tuesday, June 8th at 7PM.  

Guelph will face both Hamilton and Ottawa four times during the course of the season, twice at home and away.  The Nighthawks road schedule includes stops in each CEBL market except for reigning CEBL Champions Edmonton, who will be faced at home in Guelph on Monday, July 19th at 7PM.  The CEBL will announce its plans for the post-season at a later date.

Every CEBL and Nighthawks game will be livestreamed on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and the CEBL’s new streaming platform to be unveiled this spring. CBC will broadcast a national game of the week for seven consecutive Saturday afternoons starting June 5th. The Nighthawks will appear nationally on CBC television Saturday, June 12th at 4PM versus the Ottawa BlackJacks and Saturday, July 3rd at 4PM versus Hamilton.  Fans can also listen live to all games on Guelph’s first choice for sports, 1460CJOY.

Highlights of the 2021 Guelph Nighthawks schedule include:

• Guelph begins the season with two consecutive home games

• Guelph’s first six games are all against its Ontario rivals in Hamilton, Niagara and Ottawa

• Guelph plays every day of the week: one Monday, one Tuesday, three Wednesdays, one Thursday, four Fridays, two Saturdays and one Sunday 

• Guelph’s longest Western road trip of the season is only three days, July 14th in Fraser Valley and July 16th in Saskatoon

• The longest stretch between games for Guelph is 12 days, between June 16th at Hamilton and June 28th at Ottawa

• Guelph will close out the season with a home-and-away series vs. Ottawa on Wednesday, August 4th and Friday, August 6th

For any questions or information on the upcoming 2021 Nighthawks season contact by telephone at 548-988-4295 or at tickets@thenighthawks.ca




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The Guelph Nighthawk is a nocturnal species, taking off at the crest of nightfall from its nest in the conservation lands, gliding smoothly and gracefully through the air before swooping in upon its prey at the Sleeman Centre.
       

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