The Calgary Surge and the Edmonton Stingers have announced that for one night only, the Battle of Alberta would be held half-way between the basketball rivals… in Red Deer.
As part of the plan to play at the Westerner Park Centrium on June 19, the Surge will also be visiting the city in the run-up to host basketball programming for Red Deer locals.
The game will be the first ever neutral site match for the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Calgary Surge Vice-Chairman and President Jason Ribeiro said that bringing basketball to more Albertans was both humbling and exciting for the team.
“I would like to thank Mayor Johnston, Tourism Red Deer, and Westerner Park for all their support in ensuring more of Alberta’s cities, towns, and villages have the opportunity to experience one of Canada’s greatest inventions – basketball,” Ribeiro said in a prepared media release.
For his part, Mayor Ken Johnson said that Red Deer was the perfect place for both the Surge and the Stingers to battle it out for provincial bragging rights—although across the 2023 and 2024 season, the Surge defeated the Stingers in seven out of 10 games.
“Red Deer has a very strong basketball community, and I know our residents will be out in full force cheering for their favourite team,” said Mayor Johnson.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 3, at Surge2RedDeer.ca.
