Council agrees deal to bring Scotland's only professional basketball team to Glasgow

Glasgow City Council is to enter into a £300,000 sponsorship agreement to bring Scotland’s only professional basketball team to the city.

The Scottish Rocks will change their name to the Glasgow Rocks next year and will initially move from their base at Braehead to the Kelvin Hall before eventually becoming a key anchor tenant for the new National Indoor Sports Arena in the east end of Glasgow.

The proposal was agreed by the Council’s Executive Committee today, Friday,August 29.

The Scottish Rocks is Scotland’s only professional basketball team and competes in the British Basketball League, the UK’s top professional league.

As well as the national and international media coverage which will be generated by the team’s presence in Glasgow, it is hoped the move will also help develop and expand the sport in the city.

In addition, the move will support and enhance extensive outreach and community programmes delivered by Scottish Rocks and Scottish Sports Futures (a charitable organisation committed to enhancing the lives of young people in Scotland).

These programmes operate in partnership with schools, Community Planning Partnerships, Glasgow Community and Safety Services and a range of trusts and foundations.

Through the “Jump2it” programme in schools – in which Scottish Rocks players provide positive messages on healthy living - a Twilight Basketball programme targeting at-risk youngsters, and the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Integration Project, Scottish Sports Futures and Scottish Rocks deliver a significant range of developmental, educational and diversionary activities.

Under the five-year deal, the Council will pay the Rocks £60,000 a year. In return, the Council will obtain a number of marketing benefits, including the Council logo on the team’s playing kit.

The club, who play around 22 games a season, will change their name to the Glasgow Rocks for the start of the 2009 season.

Cllr Archie Graham, Executive Member for Culture and Sport, said: “This is a fantastic deal for the Council and I’m delighted the club will not only be moving to the city but also changing their name to the Glasgow Rocks.

“Bringing a professional club like the Rocks here will help put Glasgow on the national and international stage as a city which is committed to sporting excellence, particularly as they will eventually be based at the National Indoor Sports Arena.

“The players from the club already deliver a range of significant activities for young people, many of whom are vulnerable, through the Scottish Sports Futures programme.

"The Council and its partners will now work with the club to do even more to enrich people’s lives in Glasgow.”

Bruce Cook, General Manager of the Scottish Rocks, said: “All of us at the Rocks are thrilled with this new partnership.

“Glasgow has been such a strong supporter of our community efforts for several years now and this agreement is another step in the right direction for the Rocks, the local community, and the sport of basketball.

“The new NISA facility will be one of the finest in the UK and we can already see the cooperation and commitment of from the city that will help us build the sport and the fan base that will fill that 5000 arena.

“Meanwhile, we’re also looking forward to our time at Kelvin Hall. We’ll be right in the heart of Glasgow’s West End and the set-up will provide and electric atmosphere.

"The players think the added noise level should help the team win a few extra games and hopefully bring home some silverware.

“This really is an exciting time for the Rocks and we have this new Glasgow partnership to thank for making it all possible.”