Lions Pre-Season Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets are now available to buy for a run of pre-season & National Cup events featuring high level opposition that will be a real treat for basketball fans in the area as the first opportunity to see the new look Teesside Lions under Coach Marc Steutel materialising.
September will in many ways make up for some lost time following the return to live sports events post Covid. The Lions will host a Weekend Tournament on the 4th & 5th followed by pre-season friendlies on the 12th & 19th and the all-important first competitive game in the first round of the National Cup at home to Newcastle Eagles II on the 26th.
Weekend Tournament
To welcome fans back to basketball, the club have arranged a four-team tournament and feast of basketball action with eight games across Saturday and Sunday.
Teesside will host St Mirren of the Scottish Basketball League along with English National League Division One outfit Newcastle University and one other to be confirmed soon.
The first game will tip at 10.30am on Saturday followed by five additional games to dictate the 3\4 place & Final games to be played on Sunday.
Basketball fans will not only enjoy seeing the new look Teesside team in action for the first time, with four Lions games, but also enjoy all eight games with the weekend tickets costing only £5 for an individual ticket and £15 for a family of four.
Teesside Lions Chairman James Thomson explained the purpose of the event: “There are multiple reasons for us wanting to stage multiple events. One is to prepare the players after an extensive period of inactivity. We have begun training, but there is no substitute for competitive games and we are looking forward to welcoming some very strong opposition, not only to test ourselves but to also put on a good show for the fans.
“In addition, we have set a very low ticket fee to encourage as many people across Teesside to come along and enjoy some first class, family orientated sports entertainment.”
The club hope the opportunity to see Marc Steutel in his first game since leading Great Britain to the Euro Finals will be an exciting one, along with the fact this is the first event for the club in over 15 months.
“We have worked hard to stage an impressive run of games and look forward to seeing as many people as possible back in the Lions Den!” said Mr Thomson.
Coach Steutel could be forgiven for wanting to start his reign against lesser opposition, especially when considering the game on the 12th will be against another Division one side in Derby Trailblazers. The 6’5 play-caller was undeterred in his reasoning, stating: “We are setting a high bar. This is the standard of basketball we want to achieve in the shortest time possible. We won’t have the full team ready for the first event, but I expect every player wearing a Lions jersey to step on the floor and be competitive. This season will be about how we play, not the opposition.”
