Newfoundland Growlers (basketball)

Lore & Background

The Newfoundland Growlers were created after a complex series of events involving the St. John's Edge of the National Basketball League of Canada. On July 15, 2021, the Edge were unable to secure a lease with St. John's Sports and Entertainment, the group that owned Mile One Centre. Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which operated the hockey Newfoundland Growlers, had been negotiating to take over as primary owner of the Edge upon lease renewal, but chose not to sign after terms required rectifying the Edge's debts for a 360 LED board. The Edge were granted a leave of absence by the NBL in November 2021 to obtain a new lease, but the sale to DSE was never finalized.

After the deal for the Edge fell through, DSE founded a new basketball team in the CEBL, also naming it the Newfoundland Growlers. The new Growlers began play in the 2022 CEBL season at Memorial University's Field House. On November 11, 2022, the team announced it would cease operations after the Field House amenities were deemed inadequate for long-term use and the team could not obtain a lease at a new venue. The team stated it remained open to discussion if an opportunity to play in a new professional arena presented itself.

Reader's Guide

The Newfoundland Growlers represent a brief but notable chapter in Canadian professional basketball, illustrating the challenges of franchise stability in smaller markets. Their formation directly followed the collapse of a deal to acquire the St. John's Edge, highlighting the complex interplay between arena politics, ownership groups, and league structures. The team's short lifespan—founded in 2021 and ceasing operations in November 2022—underscores the difficulty of securing adequate, long-term facilities, as the Field House at Memorial University was deemed insufficient. The Growlers were the third professional basketball team in the St. John's area, following the St. John's Edge and the Newfoundland Rogues, and their departure left a gap in the region's basketball landscape. Their legacy is tied to the broader story of the CEBL's expansion and the ongoing search for sustainable venues in Atlantic Canada.

Did You Know?

• The Newfoundland Growlers were owned and operated by Deacon Sports and Entertainment, the same organization that operated the professional hockey team also called the Newfoundland Growlers.
• The Growlers were the third professional basketball team based in the St. John's area, after the St. John's Edge and the Newfoundland Rogues.
• The team ceased operations on November 11, 2022, because the amenities at Memorial University's Field House were deemed inadequate for long-term use.
• The Growlers began play in the 2022 CEBL season after a deal to acquire the St. John's Edge fell through.

The Arena Dispute That Spawned a New Team

The Newfoundland Growlers basketball franchise did not emerge from a clean slate. Their creation was the direct consequence of a bitter leasing battle at Mile One Centre in the summer of 2021. The St. John's Edge, an NBL Canada team, could not secure a renewed lease with St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE). Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE), the majority owner of the arena's hockey tenant, had been in negotiations to take over the Edge upon lease renewal. However, SJSE insisted that DSE assume responsibility for the Edge's outstanding debts tied to the installation of a 360-degree LED board. DSE declined those terms. SJSE then awarded the lease to 2001 Investments Limited and their American Basketball Association franchise. Although the NBL approved the Edge's sale to DSE on September 10, 2021, no arena deal was ever settled, and the transaction was never finalized. The Edge was granted a leave of absence in November 2021 to find a new venue, but that path never materialized. From this impasse, DSE pivoted and built an entirely new CEBL franchise under the Growlers name.

A Season in the Field House

The Newfoundland Growlers took the court for a single season in the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League campaign, playing their home games at the Field House at Memorial University of Newfoundland. The venue, a university facility rather than a dedicated professional arena, set the tone for the team's brief existence. The Growlers competed in the CEBL, a league that had previously seen the St. John's Edge participate under a different banner. Among the players to wear the Growlers jersey was Brandon Sampson, born in 1997, who was recognized with a Second Team All-Star selection during the season. Despite the team's competitive efforts, the underlying infrastructure proved to be the franchise's greatest adversary. On November 11, 2022, the organization announced it would cease operations, citing that the Field House's amenities were deemed inadequate for long-term professional use. The team also noted its inability to secure a lease at an alternative venue. In a final statement, the Growlers expressed openness to resuming play should a suitable professional arena opportunity arise in the future.

Third in a Line of Professional Basketball in St. John's

The Newfoundland Growlers basketball team represented the third iteration of professional basketball in the St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador area. Before them, the St. John's Edge competed in the National Basketball League of Canada, and the Newfoundland Rogues played in the American Basketball Association. Each of these franchises occupied the same general region and shared a common thread: the difficulty of sustaining professional basketball in a smaller Canadian market. The Edge's story in particular was entangled with the Growlers' origins, as DSE had been positioned to acquire the Edge before the lease dispute derailed that path. The Rogues' presence in the American Basketball Association also intersected with the arena situation, as SJSE awarded the Mile One Centre lease to 2001 Investments Limited, the group behind that ABA franchise. The Growlers' brief 2022 season thus closed a chapter that had been opening and closing in the region for years. The team's dissolution left St. John's without a professional basketball team once again, a pattern that has defined the sport's history in the province.

The Deacon Sports and Entertainment Connection

The Newfoundland Growlers basketball franchise was owned and operated by Deacon Sports and Entertainment, the same organization that ran the professional hockey team sharing the Growlers name. This dual-sport ownership model placed the basketball team in a unique position within St. John's sports. DSE was the majority owner of the hockey Growlers, who played at Mile One Centre, and the basketball Growlers were essentially a sister organization under the same corporate umbrella. The connection became critical in July 2021 when DSE was negotiating to take over the NBL Canada's St. John's Edge as part of a lease renewal at the arena. That deal collapsed over the 360 LED board debt issue, and DSE was subsequently evicted from the arena in October 2021 amid an ongoing lease dispute with SJSE. The hockey Growlers' first six home games of that season were relocated to Conception Bay South as a result. The basketball Growlers, meanwhile, found a temporary home at Memorial University's Field House, but the same facility constraints that plagued the hockey team's arena situation ultimately proved fatal to the basketball franchise as well.