The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Saturday that the Ottawa BlackJacks and the City of Ottawa have been awarded the rights to host the 2022 CEBL Championship Weekend from August 10-14, 2022 with games taking place in the Arena at TD Place.

CEBL Championship Weekend will be a five-day festival hosted locally in partnership with the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism, Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group (OSEG), and the Ottawa BlackJacks. The celebration of basketball, music, and local culture will feature concerts, street festivals, the CEBL Awards Gala, and several legacy projects to be announced at a later date. 

The team with the best regular season record will join host Ottawa with automatic berths into the four-team Championship Weekend. The next four teams in the standings will play quarter-final games to determine which two teams will advance to the semifinals in the nation’s capital. 

Championship Weekend tickets, as part of the BlackJacks season membership package, can be reserved beginning today for just $50 at  www.theblackjacks.ca . 

As part of its multi-year broadcast deal, Championship Weekend games will be aired nationally on CBC TV and available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+ , cbcsports.ca , the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices, and on Twitch. 

The announcement was made by dignitaries at halftime of today’s CBC nationally televised Ottawa BlackJacks versus Edmonton Stingers game, which saw 1,000 fans in attendance at the Arena at TD Place – the maximum allowed under current provisions by the Government of Ontario. Those on hand to make the announcement included: Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson; CEBL Commissioner Mike Morreale; Ottawa Tourism Chairman Colin Morrison; Ottawa Tourism President & CEO Michael Crockatt; and BlackJacks President Michael Cvitkovic.

The bid to host Championship Weekend was a joint venture between the Ottawa BlackJacks, Ottawa Tourism, and the Algonquin College Sport Business Management program, with a focus on fan engagement, legacy building and sport tourism.

The remaining two BlackJacks regular season games (July 26 versus Saskatchewa n and August 4 versus Guelph ) are open for fans to purchase tickets, starting as low as $25. Patrons will sit in accordance with a seating configuration that has been designed by OSEG in consultation with health authorities and approved by the CEBL Chief Medical Officer, to ensure the comfort and safety of all patrons that enter The Arena at TD Place.

Quotes:

"Basketball has emerged as an accessible, progressive and diverse sport, sharing many attributes with our great city. Hosting the CEBL Championship Weekend will provide Ottawa the opportunity to once again showcase the tremendous support and excitement our community has shown when hosting major sporting events.”

- Jim Watson, Mayor, City of Ottawa

“Ottawa Tourism is proud to collaborate with the Ottawa BlackJacks and OSEG to host the CEBL Championship Weekend in 2022. We continue to see success with our ‘Bid More, Win More, Host More’ strategy and look forward to showcasing our city to all the basketball enthusiasts who will come to Ottawa next year. The fans will find a welcoming, beautiful, and exciting destination to complement the fantastic basketball on offer at Lansdowne.”

- Michael Crockatt, President and CEO, Ottawa Tourism

“Ottawa is a thriving basketball market with a rich championship pedigree, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring the CEBL Championship Weekend to our nation’s capital next summer. Championship Weekend is a special cultural event where sport meets music, fashion, food, lifestyle and entertainment and given Ottawa’s rich history of successfully hosting renown Canadian and international sporting events, it was an easy decision to announce the 2022 festival is heading there. We look forward to collaborating with the Ottawa BlackJacks, OSEG, the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Tourism in delivering a tremendous CEBL party and leave a lasting legacy for our future CEBL stars.”

- Mike Morreale, Commissioner and CEO, Canadian Elite Basketball League

“Thank you to Commissioner Morreale for trusting the Ottawa BlackJacks and our partners in hosting the 2022 CEBL Championship Weekend. I look forward to helping showcase every corner of Ottawa’s basketball community. By hosting the league’s penultimate event, it is our vision that more children play basketball, we bring people together to celebrate the success of basketball in our country, and we continue the tradition of being a great host city.”

- Michael Cvitkovic, President, Ottawa BlackJacks

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About Canadian Elite Basketball League 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players come from the NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to more information on CEBL.ca or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Linkedin, Facebook & YouTube. (@cebleague).

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