The Surge showcases Calgary's “basketball city” credentials at the Saddledome

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There was a time when you regularly heard from old-timers in the local sports scene that Calgary wasn't a basketball town — and it wasn't that long ago.

Such thinking, of course, was left in the dust a long time ago. Anyone paying attention saw the Toronto Raptors sell out the Saddledome in 2016 and saw the University of Calgary Dinos emerge as a national championship-winning force.

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Then, of course, last year the Calgary Surge drew a young, rabid crowd to watch their inaugural season at Winsport.

If 2023 felt like the start of something special, Tuesday night encapsulated that feeling.

Playing the first game of their sophomore season in Calgary, the Surge drew a CEBL record 12,327 fans to the Saddledome for a 97-79 loss against the Edmonton Stingers.

Not bad for a town that never cared about basketball?

When the Surge came out for the second half in Calgary 88s jerseys, it was a reminder that the sport has had a following in the city for a long, long time.

“For us, it was an acknowledgment that we're standing on a lot of shoulders,” said Jason Ribeiro, vice chairman and president of Surge. “It's not just because it's a great market and we've had 12,000 people in some years, but basketball has always been here. CEBL didn't have a professional team and a hybrid league to get it.

“Basketball has always been here.”
There was a festive mood around the Dome on Tuesday night, as you'd expect.

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Setting a CEBL attendance record is a big deal.

And it took a lot of work to get there.

We can start with the Surge's announcement that they will begin the 2024 campaign with a game at the Saddledome. This happened last November and naturally raised some eyebrows. The Surge have done very well on the court, winning first place in the CEBL Western Conference last year and attracting regulars to Winsport.

But Kumbez is different. You need a lot of fans to make it feel empty.

It took a strong, coordinated marketing effort to sell tickets … but they did it.

They really did it.

“It's surprising to me because it's exceeded our expectations,” said CEBL Commissioner Mike Morreale. “We didn't set out to play in these skyscrapers, but we've seen teams succeed over the years.

“It probably speaks to the future of where we want to go, but at the same time we're playing in these really close facilities and it's great to have these facilities full. I'm happy with the way people buy into what we bring on and off the court.”

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The Surge will not be playing at the Saddledome again this season. They will return to Winsport and play in front of a raucous crowd excited to have a professional basketball team in their hometown.

Could future games at the Saddledome be in the cards? Perhaps a new arena should be opened soon, and this may be the most authentic place.

But Tuesday night, The Surge destroyed it. They proved they could put on a successful show at the Saddledome, complete with symphony and pyrotechnics and everything you could want from a big professional game.

They proved that Calgary is a basketball city.

“It's one game on the basketball side,” Ribeiro said. “But looking at the crowd, I saw Surge fans from Day 1 and a lot of people from all over the city, and it's probably a place they don't come to often. Tonight they did. I think this is a huge boost for our organization and we are very grateful to the community that has welcomed us with open arms.”

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