The Ottawa SkyHawks were a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The SkyHawks played in the Central Division of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...

(NBL Canada) during a single season. Financial difficulty resulted in the team receiving a loan from the league in order to finish the 2013-14 season. NBL Canada announced that the SkyHawks would not participate in the 2014-15 season when the team failed to comply with the terms of the loan.

History

On November 13, 2012,

(NBL Canada) announced that an Ottawa expansion team would join the league for the 2013-14 season. At a news conference on November 21, 2012, Gus Takkale, President of Bytown Sports & Entertainment and the person heading up the ownership group, confirmed the franchise would put a team on the court in the fall of 2013. Following a name-the-team contest, the team unveiled their nickname, the "TomaHawks", a logo, and colours on February 26, 2013. However, just hours after the announcement, social media erupted with people upset over what they felt to be a culturally insensitive nickname. After an outcry, the Ottawa NBL team will no longer be called the TomaHawks. It was announced at an event on April 4, 2013 that the team would be named the Ottawa SkyHawks. The SkyHawks finished in fourth (of five) place in the Central Division in the 2013-14 season, and failed to make the playoffs after losing a wildcard game against the

Mississauga Power The Mississauga Power were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Mississauga, Ontario, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). Established in as the Oshawa Power, they played in the Central Division. The Osh ...

. The team struggled to sell tickets and required a loan from the league in order to finish the season. The team had failed to repay any of the loan by July 31, 2014, and NBL Canada's Board of Governors voted 8-0 to remove Bytown Sports & Entertainment from the league for failing to "adhere to league standards as set out in the operating agreement, and deadlines set forth to prepare for the season." The SkyHawks will not play in the 2014-15 season, but NBL Canada affirmed their commitment to have a team in Ottawa again as early as the 2015-16 season but it never happened.

Home arenas

Canadian Tire Centre (2013-14)

Originally opened in 1996, the Canadian Tire Centre is a multi-purpose arena, located in the western suburb of Kanata, in

. The arena has seating for 19,153 and a capacity of 20,500 including standing room. The arena hosts ice hockey, basketball, music concerts, skating, and other entertainment events. It is home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, several restaurants, a fitness complex, and several businesses. The SkyHawks shared the arena with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. *Occasional games ** Cégep de l'Outaouais - The SkyHawks played 2 games on the campus of Cégep de l'Outaouais during the 2013-14 NBL season. **

La Cité collégiale LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

- The SkyHawks played their wildcard game on the campus of La Cité collégiale on March 2, 2014.

2013-14 roster

Season-by-season record

References

External links

* {{NBLCdefunct Defunct National Basketball League of Canada teams Sport in Ottawa Basketball teams established in 2012 2012 establishments in Ontario 2014 disestablishments in Ontario