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Plymouth Raiders to withdraw from BBL NOW not withdrawing from BBL

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It has been a good and bad week for the Raiders, The bad, major rumours that the Raiders played their last game in Plymouth today as rumours that the Raiders rent at the Pavilions owned by James Brent will be increased by 200%, the Raiders have looked at other venues in Plymouth but none would qualify as adequate for the BBL The franchise may end up moving out of Plymouth with Birmingham the most likely location. https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/ ... bWi4fJzvqg
Also the Raiders lost 2 players, Prince Ibeh and Denzel Ubiaro https://www.plymouthraiders.com/news/ar ... gEVMF4ec18

The good, the Raiders have clinched 3rd place in the league, they have won their last 4 games, and in their last 18 league games they won 16 lost 2.

Is it Mr. Brents fault, who knows, but it seems strange to jack the rent up by 200% and force the team to leave and leave the facility empty.
 
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Biggs

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I was just about to come on and post this.

I had no idea things were that bad, it would be absolutely tragic if they left.

Really they need a purpose built arena, but the Pavilions HAS to compromise on this in the meantime, surely. Though I thought the Raiders had fairly wealthy new owners...
 

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:think:
It's a strange one innit.
The interview I saw was that the Pavilions wanted to keep their options open for other events that could make them more money rather than rent out the space to the Raiders, unless of course that they were going to pay the inflated rental hire.
Never knew sundays could be so exciting.
As for additional land in Plymouth for a purpose built venue to be built? Any land near Home Park that could be untilised perhaps? :think:
 

IJN

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There's more to this than meets the eye.

A previous owner didn't want to play in the Life Centre, despite a hall being made with them in mind.

Plus if you ask the owners pre the latest owner, they'd only sing the praises of the Pavs.

I also hear that the new owner might well be wanting to move away to a 'bigger city' and is using this as an excuse.

As a taxpayer I'm quite glad that the Pavs isn't supplementing The Raiders any more, why should it?
 

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Plymouth Raiders announce that the club will withdraw from the forthcoming 21/22 BBL Season.
Ongoing difficulties surrounding a suitable playing venue continue to hamper all preparations which, at this moment, cannot be resolved within the City of Plymouth in time for the new season. This situation is very disappointing for all of us as it follows a season where the club achieved its highest BBL finish and reached the Trophy Final.
All local venues have been considered but ruled out due to their inability to provide the facilities necessary for Raiders to play in front of spectators at a price that is sustainable for the club.
This decision has been a very difficult one for the Board, and we will continue to work with Plymouth City Council and the BBL to identify feasible solutions for the longer-term.
Our sincerest thanks go to our fans, volunteers, and sponsors for all their support.
 

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Yeah no matter whose fault it is, this is a disaster.

To me the answer has to lie in this ice rink/arena next to Home Park, but no idea what the latest is on that. And it might be too late now.

A real shame, they've been going for 38 years and genuinely one of the top basketball teams in the country.
 

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Knart Beyharzed":h5c0954n said:
Basketball on Ice? Interesting concept.

:lol:

I'll get there before Mike to say that North American sports arenas are regularly shared between ice hockey and basketball teams. You would just lay the basketball court over the ice (I assume it's that way round rather than the ice over the court :shocked: )
 

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There's two sides to every story and the Pavilions would also miss out on money spinning concert events due to basketball matches taking place.

Sarah Phillips, chief executive of Plymouth Pavilions, said: “Today’s announcement by the Plymouth Raiders is very disappointing and our thoughts are with the club’s staff and Raiders fans who have stuck by their team over what has been a difficult journey in recent years, with many challenges faced on and off the court along the way. We hope the club and all those who care deeply for it can overcome these latest challenges and bounce back to future success.

The Pavilions has been a long standing supporter of the Raiders, both financially and in kind, and we have gone to considerable lengths over many years to assist in helping to secure the future of the club and of professional basketball in Plymouth.

“Despite numerous other commercial pressures on the Pavilions, including closure during the lockdowns, we provided the facility at zero rent during the pandemic, with the club asked only to pay the minimum amount required to cover our direct match day costs.
Supporters of the club, and all those in Plymouth who value the Pavilions as an entertainment resource and events venue, may well share our disappointment that despite numerous assurances, the Raiders and their owners have failed to reimburse us for the much-reduced match day costs, leaving the Pavilions exposed to further losses.

“In addition to this, over the last eight years we estimate to have provided the equivalent of £2m of support to the Raiders, taking into account reduced rent and loss of revenue, with our staff consistently going above-and-beyond to help the club and successive owners and management teams. The Pavilions cannot continue to support this professional sports club at such loss-making levels, potentially putting the venue’s future as Plymouth’s only indoor large-scale events arena into jeopardy.

“The rent we charge users of the Pavilions is fair, in line with similar venues, and at the minimum level required to open and maintain the facility, pay staff and meet running costs.
“We have worked hard to offer a significantly reduced venue hire fee to the Raiders of more than 50 per cent discounted rate, and savings of a further 10 per cent per game offered if the season was paid upfront.

“The team has offered other material concessions to support the Raiders in continuing to use the Pavilions, whilst attempting to ensure the rent would be commercially sustainable to enable the Pavilions to remain operating for the benefit of the city, the wider region and its people.

“However, throughout this process, the Raiders and their owners have refused to enter any meaningful negotiations with us.”
 

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Can't do much more than offering zero rent through the pandemic.

The real failure here is to not get a proper sports arena for Raiders to play in over the last 10-15 years, a city the size of Plymouth really should have at least a 2k+ capacity purpose-built facility. Ideally much bigger.

You'd think that the ice rink site on HHP is perfect, but we'll see. My ideal scenario is for that whole area to be a Barcelona-style sports hub and these teams (Argyle, Raiders, insert ice hockey team here) come under the same umbrella.
 
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PL2 3DQ":3cglsz3n said:
There's two sides to every story and the Pavilions would also miss out on money spinning concert events due to basketball matches taking place.

Sarah Phillips, chief executive of Plymouth Pavilions, said: “Today’s announcement by the Plymouth Raiders is very disappointing and our thoughts are with the club’s staff and Raiders fans who have stuck by their team over what has been a difficult journey in recent years, with many challenges faced on and off the court along the way. We hope the club and all those who care deeply for it can overcome these latest challenges and bounce back to future success.

The Pavilions has been a long standing supporter of the Raiders, both financially and in kind, and we have gone to considerable lengths over many years to assist in helping to secure the future of the club and of professional basketball in Plymouth.

“Despite numerous other commercial pressures on the Pavilions, including closure during the lockdowns, we provided the facility at zero rent during the pandemic, with the club asked only to pay the minimum amount required to cover our direct match day costs.
Supporters of the club, and all those in Plymouth who value the Pavilions as an entertainment resource and events venue, may well share our disappointment that despite numerous assurances, the Raiders and their owners have failed to reimburse us for the much-reduced match day costs, leaving the Pavilions exposed to further losses.

“In addition to this, over the last eight years we estimate to have provided the equivalent of £2m of support to the Raiders, taking into account reduced rent and loss of revenue, with our staff consistently going above-and-beyond to help the club and successive owners and management teams. The Pavilions cannot continue to support this professional sports club at such loss-making levels, potentially putting the venue’s future as Plymouth’s only indoor large-scale events arena into jeopardy.

“The rent we charge users of the Pavilions is fair, in line with similar venues, and at the minimum level required to open and maintain the facility, pay staff and meet running costs.
“We have worked hard to offer a significantly reduced venue hire fee to the Raiders of more than 50 per cent discounted rate, and savings of a further 10 per cent per game offered if the season was paid upfront.

“The team has offered other material concessions to support the Raiders in continuing to use the Pavilions, whilst attempting to ensure the rent would be commercially sustainable to enable the Pavilions to remain operating for the benefit of the city, the wider region and its people.

“However, throughout this process, the Raiders and their owners have refused to enter any meaningful negotiations with us.”

The proof of that will be the fabulous weekend concerts they've got lined up for us.
 
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Guiri Green":1ll4lrv9 said:
PL2 3DQ":1ll4lrv9 said:
There's two sides to every story and the Pavilions would also miss out on money spinning concert events due to basketball matches taking place.

Sarah Phillips, chief executive of Plymouth Pavilions, said: “Today’s announcement by the Plymouth Raiders is very disappointing and our thoughts are with the club’s staff and Raiders fans who have stuck by their team over what has been a difficult journey in recent years, with many challenges faced on and off the court along the way. We hope the club and all those who care deeply for it can overcome these latest challenges and bounce back to future success.

The Pavilions has been a long standing supporter of the Raiders, both financially and in kind, and we have gone to considerable lengths over many years to assist in helping to secure the future of the club and of professional basketball in Plymouth.

“Despite numerous other commercial pressures on the Pavilions, including closure during the lockdowns, we provided the facility at zero rent during the pandemic, with the club asked only to pay the minimum amount required to cover our direct match day costs.
Supporters of the club, and all those in Plymouth who value the Pavilions as an entertainment resource and events venue, may well share our disappointment that despite numerous assurances, the Raiders and their owners have failed to reimburse us for the much-reduced match day costs, leaving the Pavilions exposed to further losses.

“In addition to this, over the last eight years we estimate to have provided the equivalent of £2m of support to the Raiders, taking into account reduced rent and loss of revenue, with our staff consistently going above-and-beyond to help the club and successive owners and management teams. The Pavilions cannot continue to support this professional sports club at such loss-making levels, potentially putting the venue’s future as Plymouth’s only indoor large-scale events arena into jeopardy.

“The rent we charge users of the Pavilions is fair, in line with similar venues, and at the minimum level required to open and maintain the facility, pay staff and meet running costs.
“We have worked hard to offer a significantly reduced venue hire fee to the Raiders of more than 50 per cent discounted rate, and savings of a further 10 per cent per game offered if the season was paid upfront.

“The team has offered other material concessions to support the Raiders in continuing to use the Pavilions, whilst attempting to ensure the rent would be commercially sustainable to enable the Pavilions to remain operating for the benefit of the city, the wider region and its people.

“However, throughout this process, the Raiders and their owners have refused to enter any meaningful negotiations with us.”

The proof of that will be the fabulous weekend concerts they've got lined up for us.

It'll be cheaper to leave it empty than put on a zero rent raiders match.

Whether they've got a concert planned or not that message suggests the raiders owners are the reason they're leaving, not the Pavs
 

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But where will they play and will they still be called the Raiders?



 

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