Mersey Tigers confirm new home

Mersey Tigers will have a new home for the 2011/12 season – the Knowsley Sports Village in Huyton.

The sports village is part of a £25m investment in sports and leisure in the borough of Knowsley, and will be completed in September.

The club was keen to secure a permanent Merseyside home, having had to take games to Manchester and Warrington in recent months.

A selection of home games will also be played at the ECHO Arena, to help raise exposure of the club in the region.

A club spokesman said: “We are delighted to have secured our home for next season. We cannot stress how important this is for the club and its future. It means we can now focus on marketing our games, selling season tickets and looking for sponsorship, all of which help the club run, not only to pay wages, but to invest in our community and education programmes.

“We are extremely grateful to Knowsley MP George Howarth for all his assistance in getting this sorted for us, particularly after our well documented battles with other venues. We will be taking a champion team in to Knowsley, and we hope that the people of Knowsley and Liverpool get behind us.”

Despite their troubles in 2010/11, the Tigers have picked up the BBL Championship and BBL Trophy titles, but a permanent future at the ECHO Arena was deemed commerically unsustainable.

Knowsley MP George Howarth said: “Basketball is an increasingly popular sport, providing great family entertainment. The Mersey Tigers is one of the top clubs in the British Basketball League and, as a Knowsley MP, I am delighted that they will be playing the majority of their home games next year in Knowsley.

“This is a great opportunity for the Mersey Tigers to play at a stable venue and I would urge people to attend events and experience the thrills and spills of a fast-moving and enjoyable sport at first-hand.”

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