Basketball fans weigh in on changes ahead for Sask. CEBL franchise

Amid sweeping changes around the team formerly known as the Saskatchewan Rattlers, basketball fans in the province are weighing in on a transformational time for the organization.

As first reported by 650 CKOM on Wednesday, the CEBL team currently branded as the Saskatchewan Professional Basketball Club has been purchased by the same ownership group which runs the Calgary Surge.

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Steve Shaw has been a Rattlers season ticket holder for the last several years, expanding into becoming a business sponsor with the team last season.

He said private ownership, even from a rival team, was sorely needed for the Saskatchewan club.

“It should bring some more excitement back to this team,” Shaw said. “I think it’s been missing for a couple of seasons, it kind of felt flat going to games.”

The sale to the Calgary group was confirmed by former general manager Barry Rawlyk, who did not have his contract renewed by the organization after seven years with the team.

Since being established as one of the CEBL’s inaugural franchises in 2019, the Saskatchewan club had been owned and operated by an arm of the league in Canadian Basketball Ventures.

According to Rawlyk, being under control of the league made it difficult to bid against other teams for players and round out their roster in recent years.

Now having the backing of private ownership, Shaw is optimistic that will lead to more victories for a club which hasn’t made CEBL playoffs since 2022.

“I think it’s smart,” Shaw said. “I think it will help save the team some money, which hopefully they can put into what I think a lot of fans talk [about] is some wins on the court. That’s what this team really needs at the end of the day.”

Rob Trainor is also sharing in the excitement towards a new direction for the franchise, previously being a season ticket holder and still attending between six and eight games per summer.

The viability of the new ownership keeping the team in Saskatchewan long-term is something he thinks about however, especially if the team doesn’t meet attendance and bottom line projections in 2026.

“If the fans don’t turn up then you’re not making any money,” Trainor said. “That might be reason to either see the team disappear, move to Regina, move to Kelowna, something of that nature. I’m a little trepidatious, but right now I’m optimistic and excited about this.”

The team has teased on social media for weeks that “a new era of basketball in Saskatoon” will be formally unveiled publicly on Feb. 4.

A move away from the Saskatchewan Rattlers identity is expected with the team removing all Rattlers branding from their website and social media and defaulting to the Saskatchewan Professional Basketball Club moniker.

“Other than the championship in 2019 they’ve been bad,” Trainor said. “I suspect a lot of people, the casual sports fans, have tuned out. By rebranding, it gives them a whole reset.”

Ditching the Rattlers branding will be difficult for long-term fans according to Shaw, especially given the amount of green and gold merchandise purchased over the years.

That fact hasn’t swayed his opinion however that it might be the right time for a change, top to bottom.

“My closet, as well as many others, are full of jerseys with the Rattlers brand on it,” Shaw said. “If you want something to stay, I think you might have to go along with it.”

Along with the team moving on from Rawlyk, the contracts of president Lee Genier, head coach Eric Magdanz and associate head coach Steve Burrows were also not extended for the 2026 CEBL season.

The location of CEBL games in Saskatoon will be partially changing as well, with the team expected to play up to half of their home games away from SaskTel Centre at the smaller Merlis Belsher Place.

A move which Shaw believes will create a better atmosphere for both players and fans.

“You’re in that big, cavernous SaskTel Centre where it feels half full,” Shaw said. “It doesn’t have that feeling of community, bringing everyone together that are cheering together and maybe makes it louder. I think that Merlis [Belsher] is probably the next best place, if not the best place for this team to go.”

Expected to formally announce their new direction next week, the clock will be ticking for the organization to get their players, coaches, front office and branding in place with their season opener planned for May 14 against the Vancouver Bandits.

That timeline is what has fans like Trainor looking ahead to the spring, hopeful that these moves by ownership will result in greater success and extended viability on the court in Saskatchewan.

“My question is what have you been doing behind the scenes to ensure that the organization itself is ready to go?” Trainor said.