Manchester Giants
| Manchester Giants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| League | British Basketball League | ||
| Established | 2011 | ||
| History |
Manchester Giants 2011–present |
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| Arena |
Trafford Powerleague Arena (Capacity: 1,100) |
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| Location | Manchester, Greater Manchester | ||
| Team colours | Dark Green, Indigo and White |
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| Main sponsor | University of Bolton | ||
| Head coach |
 Yorick Williams
|
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| Ownership |
John Dwan |
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| Website | ManchesterGiants.com | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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Manchester Giants are a British semi-professional basketball team, based in Manchester, England. The franchise was established in 2011, and admitted to the top-tier British Basketball League in 2012. The team's formation was led by Jeff Jones, a former player and coach of the previous team of the same name that folded in 2001 due to financial difficulties. As of 2014, the team play their home games at the 1,100-seat Trafford Powerleague Arena in the Trafford area of Greater Manchester.
Plans for a new Manchester-based British Basketball League franchise were first reported in spring 2011, initially with the city's English Basketball League outfit, Manchester Magic (headed by former NBA star John Amaechi), mooted as a possible candidate. However, after no formal bid was made, Magic's head coach Jeff Jones (a former player and coach of the Manchester Giants franchise that folded in 2001) put together a consortium to start a new professional basketball franchise and revive the Giants brand. A formal application to join the top-tier British Basketball League was made in January 2012, which was accepted and officially announced on 19 June, joining fellow new franchise East London Royals for the 2012–13 season. It was also announced that the new team would use the 900-seat capacity Wright Robinson College 'M18 Leisure' facility, in Gorton, as its venue for home fixtures, with a long-term plan to move to a 2,500-seat purpose-built venue as part of the redevelopment of the city's Eastlands area.
On 17 July, it was revealed via a link posted on Giants' Twitter account regarding team merchandise that the team would be wearing a purple, white and green themed kit, manufactured by Irish-based sportswear brand O'Neill's. On 19 August, media reports confirmed that the first player to sign for the new-look Giants was Nottinghamshire-born forward David Watts, who had previously played for Worcester Wolves. More signings were later unveiled with Manchester-born players Nathan Schall and Stefan Gill (formerly of Cheshire Jets and Milton Keynes Lions respectively) joining ex-Mersey Tigers star David Aliu and brothers Callum and James Jones (both sons of Giants coach Jeff Jones) in the line-up, whilst Great Britain international Nick George was rumoured to be a transfer target. Former Giants star Mike Bernard was also confirmed as a new recruit along with young prospect Devan Bailey, just days before the start of the new campaign.
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Wikipedia