Plymouth City Patriots are set to remain at the Plymouth Pavilions for the rest of the current British Basketball League (BBL) season, as talks continue on a move to a new permanent venue.
The Patriots were formed from the ashes of Plymouth Raiders - one of the BBL’s founding franchises - which withdrew from the league as it was unable to pay increased rent at the Pavilions.
Since its formation by local businessman Carl Heslop, managing director of Obedair Construction, the club has been looking for a new facility in the city while continuing to play at the Pavilions on a temporary basis.
Head coach and general manager Paul James told BusinessLive in May the fledgling franchise had identified a preferred option for its new home and was hoping to announce a new, larger capacity venue within “weeks”.
Dates for Patriots home games for the current BBL season, which began in September, had previously only been released for up to the end of the calendar year - with the Pavilions listed as the venue.
On Tuesday (October 25) the Patriots announced that while plans had been in place to get a new venue ready for 2023, negotiations were now not able to be concluded in time for this season.
Mr Heslop, the club’s chairman, said: “The club have been working extremely hard to finalise a sustainable venue and this work will continue throughout this season.
“We hope to have more news on this soon and would thank the Pavilions for allowing us to complete our dates for another season.”
The Pavilions’ chief executive Sarah Phillips, added: “With the club so close to finalising exciting plans for their new venue, we’re pleased to continue our support and extend their stay with us. We look forward to celebrating Patriots’ success over the coming months, ahead of their move to pastures new next season.”
The BBL said tickets and dates for upcoming Patriots games at the Pavilions would be made available in “the coming weeks” and bookings would be available through the venue’s website.
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