On July 15, 2021, the St. John's Edge of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) were unable to secure a lease with St. John's Sports and Entertainment (SJSE), the group that owns Mile One Centre, and were announced as not returning to the venue for the 2022 season.[2] The Edge's ownership had been negotiating with the arena alongside Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE), the majority owner of the arena's hockey tenant Newfoundland Growlers, where DSE would have taken over as primary owner of the Edge upon the lease renewal. DSE chose not to sign the lease as SJSE had included terms that the Edge's debts for the installation of a 360 LED board must be rectified or taken on by DSE.[3]
SJSE instead awarded a lease to an outside ownership group, 2001 Investments Limited, and their American Basketball Association franchise.[4] On September 10, the sale of the Edge to DSE was approved by the league if an arena deal could be settled.[5] DSE stated they were committed to keeping the Edge in the region, but no home arena was announced at the time.[6][7] The Growlers were also evicted from the arena in October 2021 leading an on-going lease dispute between SJSE and DSE, leading to their first six home games of the season being moved to Conception Bay South. The Edge were granted a leave of absence by the NBL in November 2021 in order to obtain a new lease[8] but the sale of the team to DSE was never finalized.[5]
After the deal for the Edge fell through, DSE instead founded a new basketball team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), which they also named the Newfoundland Growlers.[9] The new Growlers began play in the 2022 CEBL season playing out of Memorial University's Field House.[10]
On November 11, 2022, it was announced the Growlers would be ceasing operations after the amenities at the Memorial University's Field House were deemed to be inadequate for long term use and the team was unable to obtain a lease at a new venue. The team said however it is open to discussion if an opportunity to play in a new professional arena presents itself.
^@Growlersbball (February 18, 2022). "OFFICIAL: The Growlers have named Patrick Ewing Jr. as the first Head Coach and General Manager in team history.…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Tentative Deal Reached for New St. John's Basketball Franchise". VOCM (AM). July 15, 2021.
^"City 'Edges Out' Dean MacDonald with New Tentative Basketball Deal". VOCM. July 15, 2021.
^ a b"St. John's Edge won't be part of National Basketball League of Canada when it resumes play". Saltwire.com. November 4, 2021. However, the deal was never finalized amid the difficulty in finding a suitable home court, meaning Simon and Sabbagh still officially own the Edge.
^"NBL Canada Tentatively Approves Sale of the St. John's Edge to Deacon Sports". OurSports Central. September 10, 2021.
^"The question moves from 'will the St. John's Edge play?' to 'where will they play?'". Saltwire.com. September 10, 2021.
^"NBL Canada Looks to Rebuild the Atlantic Division". OurSports Central. November 4, 2021.
^"CEBL Adds Newfoundland Growlers as 10th Franchise". OurSports Central. November 26, 2021.
^"Meet Newfoundland's new pro basketball team, the … Growlers? Yep, the Growlers". CBC.ca. November 26, 2021.
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