The Calgary Surge’s 2025 regular season will close out with the biggest of finales, a return to the Saddledome.
The team announced that they would be hosted at the ‘Dome due to their partnership with Calgary Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the Calgary Flames.
A new Canadian Elite Basketball League attendance record was set by the Surge in 2024, when 12,327 fans attended that season’s home opener against the Edmonton Stingers at the ‘Dome.
Jason Ribeiro, vice-chairman and president of the Surge, said that last year’s opening blew away every expectation the team had for a response from fans.
“Not just in terms of setting a league wide attendance record, but in terms of what our small and mighty team was able to pull off: An orchestra to open the show, a jersey change at halftime, and then a national broadcast on TSN,” he said.
Mike Morreale, Commissioner and Co-Founder of the CEBL, called last year’s season opener historic for the league.
“Last year’s historic CEBL season opener at the Scotiabank Saddledome was a massive success and a great display of the basketball fandom that exists all across our great country,” Morreale said via prepared media release.
“The Surge organization has been a leader in that growth and continues to look for new, exciting and entertaining ways to bring the Calgary community together. I have no doubt this year’s Surge finale at the Saddledome will deliver another incredible moment for basketball fans and the entire CEBL.”
Ribeiro said the change from an opener to a finale was to give fans a crescendo of excitement as the season progresses.
“There’s a YouTube clip that I watch every few weeks of a fan at the Saddledome, when the first bit of Pyro went off, and there’s an audible gasp there in the crowd,” he said.
“What the season finale is going to be is about recreating those moments for an audible gasp. Whether it’s an exciting entrance—I know last year, we had our players enter from the audience—whether it’s these disruptive blends of arts and culture and entertainment with basketball.”
Ribeiro said the pressure of putting on a good show, but also top quality basketball, was humbling.
“Particularly at this time, bringing the highest level of sport to the country. I would remind people, particularly at this time, a sport that was invented by a Canadian. So, with the current climate where it is, I think it’s more than pressure,” he said.
The Surge will end their regular season against the CEBL defending champions Niagara River Lions—who in 2024 defeated the Surge in two out of their three games.
Tickets for the season finale will go on sale at 10 a.m. on April 3, at Surge2TheDome.ca, with pre-sale ticket access being offered to registered fans ahead of that date.
For more information on general admission regular season Calgary Surge tickets, you can visit their website.
