Guelph Nighthawks are a game changer for young athletes in the community

J. Cole hits the court in Guelph J. Cole, the rapper turned basketball player, made his CEBL debut at the Sleeman Centre on Thursday night. CTV's Tyler Kelaher has more.

Thursday’s season opener was a night to remember for Guelph Nighthawk fans, and it had nothing to do with the final score of the game.

The team hosted rap icon J. Cole, who hit the court for his Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) debut, after signing a contract with the Scarborough Shooting Stars earlier this month.

The rapper finished the night draining one of four shooting attempts for Scarborough, scoring three points, while recording one rebound and an assist in just under 15 minutes of play.

MORE: J. Cole makes Canadian basketball debut in game against Guelph

Guelph won the game 89-80 to open the season with a 1-0 record. Cat Barber had a team-high 20 points for Guelph, followed by Ahmed Hill and A.J. Lawson who both had 18 points.

Guelph Nighthawks sponsor Natasha Pederson was one of the thousands in attendance on Thursday and said the game offered a whole new fan experience, with the Grammy Award winner in the building.

"It was just simply electric," said Pederson. "The atmosphere was awesome. There were over 3,000 people in attendance last night, which is probably the most I’ve ever seen."

Several fans at the Sleeman Centre said they’d never been to a CEBL game before, but had to get seats just to say they were in the building to watch J. Cole live.

Burlington resident Randeep Thandi said he drove 45 minutes just to see "one guy and one guy only -- J. Cole."

This year marks the Nighthawks’ fourth season in the CEBL.

Facility manager Rich Grau confirmed just under 3,000 tickets were sold for the season opener, the most in team history.

"It was very obvious that there were individuals that maybe were not basketball fans," Grau told CTV News. "Hopefully with J. Cole being here, and the excitement, and what they’ve seen at the game, I hope that they are going to come back."

Grau said having such a high-profile celebrity playing on a team roster had organizers preparing on a much larger scale than usual.

"We thought we were all set up last week, and everyone took off for the long weekend," he said. "Then on Friday morning we find out [Scarborough signs] J. Cole, so we had to scurry a little bit. We had to increase event staffing, food and beverage staffing, service locations, and obviously we had to address some [security concerns] as well."

Pederson believes Thursday is a sign of even better things to come with - or without - J. Cole playing on the court.

"I think it’s just a reflection over the last four years of what the CEBL has wanted, what the Nighthawks have been building, and what the Guelph community has come to realize, the Nighthawks are within the community," Pederson said.

She added that season ticket holders have tripled since 2019.

The Nighthawks’ second game of the season is set for Tuesday, May 31 against the Niagara River Lions at the Sleeman Centre.

IMPACT ON YOUNG PLAYERS

Paul McGuaghey, a freelance basketball journalist, says it's an exciting time for the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

"The Nighthawks have just added a huge element to the pro sports landscape in Guelph."

The team, which is now marking its fourth year in the city, has had an impact on the local sports scene.

"It's been awesome to see the growth," says Vanessa Lodge, the vice-president of development for the Guelph Youth Basketball Association. "You see it in the development of the number of players. Pre-COVID, we had almost over 600 kids in just our house league. As a club, almost 900."

She says the Nighthawks are inspiring kids by participating in local summer camps and activities.

They've also put together a six-week program to help train young athletes.

"It's a great opportunity to partner," says Lodge. "We didn't have as much opportunity for our house league players to play basketball this season because of COVID, so we worked with the Nighthawks to run a program to get them in training, to reach out and to learn from some of their coaches and their players."

She says kids are learning how to succeed both on and off the court.

Mayor Cam Guthrie says that with major junior hockey and intercountry baseball in the city, the Nighthawks fill a void in Guelph.

"After everyone experiences their first game they're hooked, and the buzz about it from everybody that goes is just fantastic."

Guthrie's own parents are now Nighthawk fans.

"They just love it," he says. "They have bought season tickets."

The city is providing free transit on game days to anyone with a ticket to a Nighthawks game.

"We've seen it, historically, that people would typically go down a couple of hours before a game so they can grab a bite to eat before going to games," says Courtney McDonald, manager of the city's Transit Business Services. "We're assuming that this will continue with the Guelph Nighthawks as well."

The Canadian Elite Basketball League is different from the National Canadian Basketball League, where the KW Titans are making their playoff debut.