BIRMINGHAM PANTHERS

The 'Birmingham Panthers', or to give them their official name 'Team Birmingham Panthers', is a professional basketball club in the British Basketball League. Established in 2007, the Birmingham based franchise are due to start competing in Britain's top-tier league in the 2007-08 season.

Contents

Franchise history

Home arenas

See also

Notes

External links

Franchise history

Following the demise and eventual liquidation of the Birmingham Bullets, one of British basketball's most successful franchises, the city of Birmingham was left without a major basketball team for the 2006-07 season. Though many Bullets fans defected to the Worcester Wolves, elected to the BBL to replace the Bullets and retain professional basketball in the Midlands, every effort was made for Birmingham to return to the fold for the following season.
On March 23, 2007 it was officially confirmed that Birmingham would be part of the mass-expansion of the BBL, with former Bullets assistant coach Herman Wilson leading a consortium of investors behind the project ^[1]. Behind the scenes both the BBL and Wilson worked fast to establish a franchise amid speculation of rival league the British Basketball Association announcing their own Birmingham franchise for the following season, the Birmingham Athletics.
Within weeks of the initial announcement it was confirmed on April 18 by the BBL that ''Team Birmingham Panthers'' would be the eleventh franchise taking to the court for the 2007-08 season, with the Aston Events Centre, a former home of both the Bullets and Athletics, hosting all home games of the new team with a move to a future arena already planned ^[2]. Rumours abound that former Bullets coach Tony Garbelotto would be hired by the club were rapidly quashed by Wilson who also announced that local fans would be consulted regarding the teams playing colours ^[3].
In the same interview with regional newspaper Birmingham Mail Wilson was keen to stress that the new club is attempting to cut any links to the former Bullets franshise, which for many feel the ownership of Craig Bown the image of Midlands basketball was tarnished and one of the most famous names in British basketball was killed off. Wilson also claimed the Bullets name was not chosen for the new franchise because of connotations with gun crime ^[4], a move that was taken by the NBA's Washington Wizards (formerly called Bullets) in 1995. Instead, the name Panthers was opted for in reference to former BBL franchise Doncaster Panthers, where Wilson started his career as a basketball coach as an assistant to Curtis Xavier in the early 1990s.

Home arenas

:Aston Events Centre (2007-present)

See also

★ Birmingham Bullets

★ British Basketball League

Notes

1. Basketball team to replace Bullets Collin Tattum
2. New team to launch in Birmingham BBC Sport
3. Panthers ready to make Brum proud Collin Tattum
4. Herman: Why we fired Bullets brand Collin Tattum

External links

★ Official Birmingham Panthers website

★ Unofficial Birmingham Panthers forum