Winnipeg Sea Bears surge to playoff spot, smash league attendance record

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Peggy

The Winnipeg Sea Bears capped their final regular-season home game in record-setting style Tuesday, shattering the Canadian Elite Basketball League season attendance mark and scoring a key victory that clinched a playoff spot.

Down by 13 at one point in the third quarter, the Sea Bears clawed back and then roared past the Calgary Surge 111-104 at Canada Life Centre, halting Calgary’s four-game win streak.

The winning point, in target-score time, was an anti-climactic free throw, but the crowd stood and thundered in anticipation just the same.

The win officially eliminated the Saskatchewan Rattlers from playoff contention and secured the final post-season spot for Winnipeg.

“I wouldn’t mind a little less drama. I’m not sure how long my heart can take it, but it is super fun to have all those folks in the building supporting us, and the team coming out on top is always exciting,” said Sea Bears president Jason Smith.

Inside of an arena at a basketball game with thousands of fans. — The Sea Bears drew 11,051 fans to the final regular season home game on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre, a crowd that watched them clinch a playoff spot with a come-from-behind win. (Darren Bernhardt/CBC)

The 111 points scored by the Sea Bears marked a franchise record, and the crowd of 11,051, which spread into part of the arena’s upper deck, was the second-largest crowd in CEBL history.

“You can’t discount the impact of having that many people out cheering for you, or cheering against you if you’re Calgary last night. The crowd is not just there, they’re really into it,” Smith said.

“All the players mention it because they’ve come from all over the world here to play … and for many, these are the biggest crowds they’ve played for. It’s a special environment.”

The Surge hold the single-game attendance record of 12,327 but that comes with an asterisk. The game was played in the 19,200-seat Scotiabank Saddledome, where the NHL’s Calgary Flames play. The Surge typically play in a 3,200-seat event centre.

“They just did kind of a one-off to kick off the season and basically marketed it as a ‘let’s set the CEBL record,'” Smith said.

The Sea Bears held the mark of 10,580 until Calgary claimed it. Before that, the single-game record was 4,404 fans.

“Next year, see if we can take that record back. We feel pretty confident we can,” said Smith.

He is happy to see the league’s popularity soaring in other cities and that the Winnipeg team is helping blaze that trail.

“A lot of the western teams have very strong fan support, and so some of them are talking about after seeing the success we’ve had here, moving into a larger NHL venue,” he said.

“I think that is the next step for the CEBL, is as the league continues to grow, to try to get most of the teams into the bigger venues.”

Winnipeg significantly tightened its grip on the CEBL’s regular-season attendance record this year with 86,735, scorching the mark of 54,046 it set last season.

In comparison, the Vancouver Bandits — the top team in the Western Conference — own the second-highest season total, with 38,908.

A jumbotron scoreboard inside an arena displays an attendance number for a basketball game. — The scoreboard at Canada Life Centre displays the Sea Bears’ regular-season attendance record on Tuesday. (Darren Bernhardt/CBC)

“It’s amazing. We’re very appreciative that the city has welcomed us so openly. I will admit we had no idea or expectation that we might get to these sort of numbers in our second year,” Smith said.

The team originally planned to configure the arena to seat about 4,000 and curtain off the rest.

“We’re in some regards as shocked as anybody,” Smith said. “It’s pretty humbling.”

The fans have stuck with the team, despite some rocky patches that saw a pair of four-game losing skids and the parting of ways with star guard Teddy Allen.

Allen tied the CEBL record for points in a game last season after netting 42 in a 98-93 win against the Scarborough Shooting Stars, and finished the year as the league’s second-highest scorer and league MVP.

But it was his other conduct that soured the team on Allen — arguing with coaches and teammates. The distractions became too much to endure, GM Mike Taylor said in June, when Allen was cut loose.

Smith said it was a difficult decision because Allen was extremely popular with the fans, but the team has rebounded and gelled more as a group.

“We were nervous, I’m not going to lie. But we’re at peace with that decision.”

Allen was later picked up by Saskatchewan and made his return to Winnipeg on July 20, giving extra motivation to the home team which came out victorious, ending one of its losing streaks.

The Sea Bears currently sit in fourth place in the conference and have two road games left in their regular season, including a rematch with the Surge in Calgary on July 25 and then against the Edmonton Stingers on July 29.

They would need to win both games and hope the Surge lose at least one of their final two, in order to move up into third place.

The Sea Bears have only ever had one other playoff game. The team finished the 2023 season in second place in the west with a 12-8 record, then hosted the third-place Stingers, losing 87-81.