BANDITS LAND AT LANGLEY EVENTS CENTRE FOR 2022 CEBL SEASON
Bandits Staff • September 23, 2021
LANGLEY, B.C., September 23, 2021 – The Fraser Valley Bandits announced Thursday that the club has chosen Langley Events Centre (LEC) as its home for the upcoming Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season, which begins May 2022.
As the new home of professional basketball in B.C., LEC builds upon its history of showcasing the province’s best players by now featuring some of Canada’s premier pro athletes during the CEBL’s May-August season, as well as emerging amateur boys and girls who compete annually at the B.C. High School Basketball Championships hosted at LEC.
“Today is a special opportunity to celebrate and usher in a new chapter in British Columbia’s rich basketball history. The sport’s roots run deep in B.C., from the Okanagan to Vancouver Island, and especially here in the Fraser Valley,” said CEBL commissioner and CEO Mike Morreale.
“We have consistently seen this region produce some of the province’s leading U SPORTS athletes, as well as boys and girls that have gone on to represent Canada in the NBA, WNBA and in Olympic competition. The arrival of the Bandits at LEC cements the notion that Langley is the capital of basketball in B.C. through its status as the home of competitive youth basketball played across the venue’s multitude of courts, its hosting of provincial championships, U SPORTS and now one of the CEBL’s most exciting teams to watch in the Bandits.”
Fraser Valley completed the club’s third CEBL season at Championship Weekend in Edmonton this past August. The Bandits were one of the league’s top teams throughout the regular season, finishing the campaign with a 5-2 record at home, which was punctuated by a 104-84 quarterfinal playoff victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Abbotsford Centre on August 15.
“The Township of Langley is pleased to welcome the Fraser Valley Bandits to their new home court. Sports help us create healthy and successful communities. Having the CEBL at Langley Events Centre gives residents an exciting opportunity to see professional basketball close to home and can help inspire youth players to take up the sport,” said Jack Froese, Mayor of the Township of Langley.
Abbotsford Centre previously served as the team’s home since July 2018 when the Bandits were launched ahead of the CEBL’s inaugural 2019 season, which featured six teams in Abbotsford, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Guelph, Hamilton and St. Catharines. The successful inaugural campaign saw the Bandits finish among the league’s best in average attendance, which set a promising precedent ahead of the 2020 CEBL season.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, basketball took a backseat to life’s more pressing issues and the CEBL’s second season was delayed until July when the CEBL hosted the 2020 CEBL Summer Series. The condensed season saw the CEBL become the first Canadian professional sports league to return to play following the start of the pandemic. In conjunction with the CEBL’s multi-year partnership with CBC, the Bandits played in three nationally televised games. All regular season and postseason games were available for domestic and international audiences stemming from around the globe on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and Twitch.
This past season, CEBL+ was launched as the league’s very own OTT service designed to offer Canada and the globe’s fervent basketball fanbase live CEBL action and behind-the-scenes access to the league’s teams and stars.
Despite falling 84-82 in a riveting semifinal against Niagara at 2021 Championship Weekend, the Bandits have earned a reputation as one of the CEBL’s grittiest and personable teams on and off the court.
Thanks to an electric live game day experience featuring pyrotechnics, non-stop music and edge-of-your-seat highlights, further complimented by an engaging digital and social media brand presence, the Bandits have built one of the CEBL’s most engaged fanbases. The dedication of Bandits fans, who stem from across the Lower Mainland, was evident when the Bandits became the first professional sports team in B.C. to welcome fans back in stands on July 14, 2021. Through swift collaboration and communication with local health authorities, Fraser Valley gave fans a chance to cheer on their favourite club in accordance with a 50 per cent capacity guideline.
The sold-out affair saw 2,200 strong witness an emphatic 92-71 victory against the Guelph Nighthawks and set the tone for the Bandits to sellout all four of the home games hosted by the club with fans permitted to attend in 2021.
With its arrival at the state-of-the-art LEC, Fraser Valley will continue to give its dedicated fan base an impressive game day experience, while also capitalizing on the resources of the venue. LEC is also home to the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Vancouver Giants, the Langley Thunder, Trinity Western University’s U SPORTS competing teams, as well as Basketball BC headquarters and a variety of user groups, clubs and high school teams that frequent the venue on a weekly basis.
Deposits for full season ticket membership packages are now available and can be placed with a Fraser Valley representative by emailing tickets@thebandits.ca
or calling 604-866-0529. Fans interested in learning more about the Bandits’ variety of ticket packages can also fill out THIS form
to register their interest and be contacted directly by a team representative.
The CEBL’s fourth season is set to start in May 2022. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians.
“The Bandits are thrilled to continue our growth throughout the Fraser Valley by making our new home at Langley Events Centre,” said Bandits president Dylan Kular. “LEC has a storied basketball and sports history and is a leading entertainment venue that is renowned for its breadth of facilities and hospitality offerings. Bandits fans both new and old will be able to experience the elite game day product that they have come to know and love, as well as the benefits of a centrally located venue in the Lower Mainland that’s reputation is second to none.”
CEBL players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August.
“We are always excited to add another tenant and even more games to what we already offer here at Langley Events Centre,” said Gary Ahuja, manager of corporate communications and media for LEC. “Having hosted various provincial basketball championships at LEC for more than a decade now, we know just how passionate the basketball community is both here in the Fraser Valley, across the Lower Mainland and throughout BC. We look forward to welcoming the Bandits, their great fan base and the CEBL to Langley Events Centre for the 2022 season and play our role in hosting such a fast-paced and exciting game.”
Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Andrew Savory, Vice President, (604) 217-6213, asavory@thebandits.ca
About the Fraser Valley Bandits:
The Fraser Valley Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team. As the westernmost club in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Bandits offer an entertainment experience that combines a fast-paced game day atmosphere with a presentation of some of Canada’s top professional athletes within a world-class venue at Langley Events Centre (LEC). Head to thebandits.ca for more information.
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The Vancouver Bandits announced Tuesday that the club has signed University of Victoria Vikes standout and former U SPORTS national champion Shadynn Smid for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. A 6-foot-7 forward from Duncan, B.C., Smid has spent the last four years playing post-secondary basketball with the University of Victoria. He helped lead the Vikes to a U SPORTS Final 8 appearance in each of his four years with the program, a run that included three Canada West conference championships and a U SPORTS national championship in 2024-25. Smid was one of 40 men’s basketball student-athletes invited to the Bandits University Combine , hosted by the club to identify players to invite to training camp and add to its roster for the upcoming 2026 season. The signing marks Smid’s first-ever professional contract and he will join the club for 2026 Training Camp, commencing on Tuesday, May 5. “Shadynn is a rare combination of elite athleticism and growing skill. He was one of the best players in Canada and we think he can impact winning for us right away,” said head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius. “Shadynn is an explosive athlete who brings a relentless motor every time he steps on the floor. He embodies our team’s culture and we are excited to get to work with him.” He started 25 of 26 games in the 2025-26 season, averaging 13.4 points and pulling down a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game en route to earning Canada West Second Team All-Star honours. Prior to his post-secondary career, Smid attended Cowichan (now Quw’utsun) Secondary. Internationally, Smid represented Canada at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games where he competed in 3x3 basketball. As part of the CEBL’s long-standing partnership with U SPORTS, Canadian men’s basketball student-athletes can be signed to CEBL Developmental Player Contracts therefore retaining a student-athlete’s post-secondary eligibility.
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the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and CBC Sports unveiled the league’s 2026 broadcast and streaming schedule. Beginning May 9, CBC Sports will live stream every game of the 2026 CEBL season on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca and CBC Sports YouTube channel . Additionally, six regular season matchups, the Conference Finals and the best-of-three CEBL Finals will be broadcast nationally on CBC TV. CBC Sports’ coverage of the league’s eighth season tips off on Saturday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. MT) from the Edmonton EXPO Centre, where the Edmonton Stingers host former Stingers guard and three-time CEBL MVP Xavier Moon and the Winnipeg Sea Bears in a highly anticipated season opener. “This broadcast schedule reflects the commitment of both our League and CBC Sports to deliver Canadian-grown, top-tier sport action across the nation,” said CEBL President and CEO Ty Mazereeuw. “We’ll be bringing free access to premier matchups from Canada’s pro basketball league to audiences across Canada .” CBC Sports returns as a key media partner under a new five-year agreement, as announced March 3 , after serving as the league’s original broadcaster from 2019 to 2022. The national broadcast schedule also features a marquee rematch of last summer’s dramatic Western Conference Semifinal, with the Calgary Surge visiting the Vancouver Bandits on July 5 at Langley Events Centre. Additional matchups throughout the summer will showcase some of the league’s top rivalries and premier talent. Regular-Season games available on CBC TV: Saturday, May 9, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Winnipeg Sea Bears at Edmonton Stingers Sunday, July 5, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Calgary Surge at Vancouver Bandits Sunday, July 12, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Calgary Surge at Winnipeg Sea Bears Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Edmonton Stingers at Niagara River Lions Saturday, July 25, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Brampton Honey Badgers at Winnipeg Sea Bears Sunday, August 2, 2026 | 3:30 PM ET | Winnipeg Sea Bears at Vancouver Bandits The schedule for CBC Sports’ CEBL Playoffs coverage will be announced at a later date. For the full 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League schedule, visit cebl.ca/schedule . Additional streaming will be available on CEBL+. Details on the league’s new playoff format are available at cebl.ca/playoffs , and ticket information can be found at cebl.ca/tickets .
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