Windsor Express celebrates 10th season
The Windsor Express are celebrating a milestone this season.
“It's our 10th anniversary, something we gotta be proud of,” said head coach Bill Jones, who has been around for all 10 seasons.
Many didn’t think the team would reach their fifth anniversary, let alone 10th.
“You can hear the level of respect that they have for a team that has been around for 10 years,” said team CEO Dartis Willis who credits the community, including fans and sponsors, for helping the Express stay in the game.
Despite a losing record last season, the Express broke their attendance record by over 10 per cent.
Administration and staff worked hard during the off-season to stay connected to the community.
“Making sure that they are a part of what's happening. Making them aware of all the different players and events and connections. Especially the 10th anniversary connection,” said Willis.
Willis feels the signing of six players from last year’s team was an important part in staying connected with fans.
“If they know who the players are they tend to have that connection,” he said.
Not since the early days have Express fans been able to say they are familiar with numerous players on the team to start the season.
“We want to bring them back to be able to have our fans come and say ‘yeah he's back’ and to be able to continue to support us and those players as well,” said Jones.
Billy White is one of the returning players and leaders on the team.
“The fans here are amazing,” he said. “I've been playing in this league for a long time and I just like Windsor a lot and the fans are very supportive.”
For the second straight year the NBL of Canada will be a four team league.
The core-four are Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo and Sudbury and they’ll compete against teams in the U.S. league TBL.
Willis isn’t sure where the league is headed but says the NBL of Canada is exploring options to ensure Windsor has more milestones to achieve in the future.
“What does the perfect league look like? Is that an amalgamation? Is that a partnership? We haven't determined that yet but we're not counting anything out,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.