The Birmingham Panthers, or to give them their official name Team Birmingham Panthers, is a professional basketball club in the British Basketball League. Established in 2007, the Birmingham based franchise are due to start competing in Britain's top-tier league in the 2007-08 season. Image File history File links Kit_body_basketball. ... body of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Kit_body_basketball. ... body of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The British Basketball League, often abbreviated to BBL, is the top mens professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. ... Birmingham (pron. ... The 2007-08 BBL season, the 21st since the establishment of the British Basketball League, is due to start in September 2007 with eleven teams, including new addition Birmingham Panthers. ...

Franchise history

Following the demise and eventual liquidation of the Birmingham Bullets, one of British basketball's most successful franchises, the city of Birmingham was left without a major basketball team for the 2006-07 season. Though many Bullets fans defected to the Worcester Wolves, elected to the BBL to replace the Bullets and retain professional basketball in the Midlands, every effort was made for Birmingham to return to the fold for the following season. The Birmingham Bullets is a basketball team which plays in the British Basketball League, the top level mens basketball league in the United Kingdom. ... The British Basketball League season, the twentieth since its establishment, will commence on 29 September, 2006. ... The Worcester Wolves is a basketball team from the city of Worcester, which plays in the British Basketball League. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

On March 23, 2007 it was officially confirmed that Birmingham would be part of the mass-expansion of the BBL, with former Bullets assistant coach Herman Wilson leading a consortium of investors behind the project ^[1]. Behind the scenes both the BBL and Wilson worked fast to establish a franchise amid speculation of rival league the British Basketball Association announcing their own Birmingham franchise for the following season, the Birmingham Athletics. March 23 is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The British Basketball Association, or BBA for short, is a professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. ... Birmingham Athletics, formerly called and often still referred to as Aston Athletics, is a basketball team based in Birmingham, England. ...

Within weeks of the initial announcement it was confirmed on April 18 by the BBL that Team Birmingham Panthers would be the eleventh franchise taking to the court for the 2007-08 season, with the Aston Events Centre, a former home of both the Bullets and Athletics, hosting all home games of the new team with a move to a future arena already planned ^[2]. Rumours abound that former Bullets coach Tony Garbelotto would be hired by the club were rapidly quashed by Wilson who also announced that local fans would be consulted regarding the teams playing colours ^[3]. April 18 is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2007-08 BBL season, the 21st since the establishment of the British Basketball League, is due to start in September 2007 with eleven teams, including new addition Birmingham Panthers. ... The Aston Events Centre is an indoor sports and event venue located in Birmingham, England. ...

In the same interview with regional newspaper Birmingham Mail Wilson was keen to stress that the new club is attempting to cut any links to the former Bullets franshise, which for many feel the ownership of Craig Bown the image of Midlands basketball was tarnished and one of the most famous names in British basketball was killed off. Wilson also claimed the Bullets name was not chosen for the new franchise because of connotations with gun crime ^[4], a move that was taken by the NBA's Washington Wizards (formerly called Bullets) in 1995. Instead, the name Panthers was opted for in reference to former BBL franchise Doncaster Panthers, where Wilson started his career as a basketball coach as an assistant to Curtis Xavier in the early 1990s. The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. ... The National Basketball Association of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the NBA, is the premier professional basketball league in North America. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Doncaster Panthers was a former basketball team in the British Basketball League from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. ...

Home arenas

Aston Events Centre (2007-present)

The Aston Events Centre is an indoor sports and event venue located in Birmingham, England. ...

See also

• Birmingham Bullets
• British Basketball League

The Birmingham Bullets is a basketball team which plays in the British Basketball League, the top level mens basketball league in the United Kingdom. ... The British Basketball League, often abbreviated to BBL, is the top mens professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. ...

Notes

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ...

External links

• Official Birmingham Panthers website
• Unofficial Birmingham Panthers forum