Mile One Centre is going Rogue.
Tony Kenny, President of 2001 Investments Limited, the group bringing the new American Basketball Association team to St. John’s, unveiled what they’re calling a new era at Mile One on Wednesday afternoon – The Newfoundland Rogue era.
Free spirits have always called this island home.
A cultural legacy of legends, mavericks and pioneers – who fought back, rose up, and never quit.In the continuation of that spirit, please welcome the Newfoundland Rogues.#GoRogue #RogueSquad pic.twitter.com/KLvGRfdHQo
— @nfldrogues (@nfldrogues) September 29, 2021
Maroon and gold are the new team colours. Pete Laing, Strategic and Creative Lead at Robot Interactive Marketing, joked that he was revealing what seemed to be the worst kept secret in the city. He says the maroon is inspired by the provincial sports jerseys, while the gold symbolizes the place where the sun rises first, and as Christopher Pratt said, the golden arrow in the flag points to a brighter future.
The Rogue will start playing at Mile One Centre on November 27th with the season ending on March 3rd, 2022. There will be 30 home games in between.
When it comes to playoffs, Head Coach Jerry Williams says there will be no games in the capital city as they will all be played in Kansas City.
However, Williams, who played in the ABA for three seasons himself with a lengthy semipro resume, says with the talent they are bringing in, he is confident they will be making the ABA playoffs.
As a Head Coach, he won four ABA national titles, and was named ABA Coach of the Year in 2016-17.
As for the rest of the staff, Tony Kenny says there will be more announcements in the coming days, but introduced their first hire, his son, Diego Kenny, as Special Manager. Stacey Leawood, a Mount Pearl native and now NBA player agent, has joined the team as an Assistant Coach.
In with the new. @nfldrogues@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/I4RcEMcA75
— Ben Murphy (@VOCMBen) September 29, 2021
Kenny and his team are excited and encouraging basketball fans to come down and give this new, family friendly style of basketball a shot.
