A visit by Hamilton Honey Badgers’ team president John Lashway last Friday to the FirstOntario Centre offered a promising look at the team and the city’s future as a sports and entertainment destination. Lashway was on hand to oversee the beginning of the refurbishing process of the Honey Badgers’ home court in advance of the team’s inaugural season in 2019.

It was all quiet inside the arena, except for the hard work of Westpoint Sport, who have been working behind the scenes to prepare a top-quality hardwood finish to the court. Despite the FirstOntario Centre being empty at the moment, Lashway couldn’t help but envision a raucous crowd and passionate Hamilton fan base filling its corridors when the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s (CEBL) first season begins in May 2019.

“Basketball has had a strong heritage in Hamilton for many years and there’s a real appetite for the sport. A big part of the CEBL is to provide access to basketball, whether you’re a player, fan or company that wants to associate with the sport of basketball—there’s a lot of interest in that and the CEBL provides that opportunity,” Lashway said.

Hamilton is one of six teams in the CEBL and will play 10 regular season home games at the FirstOntario Centre between tip-off and the conclusion of the season. The venue is known for hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), as well as a variety of high profile concerts, but the first-class venue resonated in an even stronger way for Lashway.

Lashway was an executive with the Toronto Raptors in 1995 and was present at the FirstOntario Centre when the arena was the site of the Raptors’ first NBA training camp. More than two decades later, however, Lashway hopes that the Honey Badgers will build upon a foundation of youth and university level basketball players from Hamilton, while inspiring future generations to pursue opportunities in basketball.

“I want boys to come here and see that, ‘I don’t have to be a player, I can be on the dance team.’ I want girls to come here and see that they can become a coach or an official. I want kids to think, ‘I can have a role in basketball. There’s a place for me and for everyone,’” Lashway said.

“Basketball is a sport that’s open to everyone and I want people to see that at our games.”