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Exciting news for Cape Breton and Sydney. Center 200 can hold about 5,500 fans for basketball and knowing how warm, hospitable and community-oriented Capers are, expect sellouts for all 3 days of this exciting event.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday October 8th, 2009

Subway Final 6 Men's Basketball Championship on the Move
Marquee men's basketball event to be held outside Halifax for the first time since 1981.

October 8, 2009 (SYDNEY, NS) - At a press conference held this morning, Phil Currie, Executive Director of Atlantic University Sport, announced that the 2010 Subway Final 6 Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Championship will be hosted this March at Centre 200 in Sydney, NS.

"We are extremely pleased to be bringing this marquee event to Sydney and Centre 200", said Phil Currie, Executive Director of Atlantic University Sport and chair of the Subway Final 6 Men's Basketball Championship. "The positive response we've received to date from all the major stakeholders here in Cape Breton has been overwhelming. We are confident that the event will be well supported and look forward to working with the people of Cape Breton to ensure Centre 200 is sold out and the tournament is a huge success."

Historically the championship tournament has been hosted in Halifax for the past 28 years, 24 of those at the Halifax Metro Centre however, due to scheduling conflicts on four occasions, the event has been hosted at the Halifax Forum (1987, 1989, 1995 and 2003). The last time the Men's Basketball Championship was contested outside Halifax was March of 1981, when the tournament was held at the University of New Brunswick where StFX defeated Acadia by a score of 96-95 in overtime. Once again in March of 2010 the Subway Final 6 AUS Men's Basketball Championship will relocate and it is with great enthusiasm that the AUS together with its partners will host the event in Sydney, NS.

“Sydney’s hosting of the Basketball Championship will provide an opportunity to witness excellent university-level basketball while stimulating the local economy in what is traditionally a slow time of year,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway. “Federal initiatives under Canada’s Economic Action Plan are helping to stimulate the local economy, create jobs and support those Canadians who are hardest hit by the global economic downturn.”

"As title sponsor of the Subway Final 6 AUS Men's Basketball Championship, we at Subway are pleased to be involved in bringing this event to the city of Sydney and strong basketball community here in Cape Breton," said Kirk MacRae, a local franchisee of Subway Restaurants in Sydney. "The positive economic impact an event of this size will leave here in Sydney will be tremendous for all local businesses and will hopefully pave the way for more organizations to choose Cape Breton as a host for their events."

For nearly a half century Atlantic University Sport has successfully hosted regional and national university sporting events in Nova Scotia. Major milestones in the AUS championship legacy include; the Atlantic Bowl hosted for 40 consecutive years, which is now the Uteck Bowl and hosted every second year; the returning CIS Men's Basketball Championship hosted for 24 consecutive years and finally one of the most consistent and stable university sporting events in Canada, the Subway Final 6 AUS Men's Basketball Final 6 Championship.

Average attendance at this event has been 15,510 with an impressive 42% coming from outside the immediate region. This event has consistently provided important economic benefits to the local economy, with thousands congregating to cheer on their favourite of the six participating teams.

"We are looking forward to an exciting couple of weeks of basketball this winter in Sydney", said Mr. John Ryan, Director of Athletics at Cape Breton University and current President of Atlantic University Sport. "With the AUS Women's Basketball Championship at CBU followed by the AUS Men's Basketball Championship at Centre 200, fans of university sport and the basketball community here in Cape Breton will have an opportunity to witness high calibre championship basketball and I have no doubt the support this region will show for these event will be second to none."

As excitement builds on the road to Sydney 2010, a “Come Home to Cape Breton” campaign will invite Capers back to Cape Breton and extend a warm welcome to basketball fans to come and enjoy the historic island hospitality. It is anticipated that over 1,200 hotel rooms in the greater Sydney area will be at capacity as well as the 5,500 seats available at Centre 200 for the 2010 Subway Final 6 AUS Men’s basketball Championship.
CBRM Mayor John Morgan said, "The CBRM and surrounding areas have exhibited world class hospitality for centuries, and today the region has become a well known event destination. During a season that will see our municipality host the AUS Women's Basketball championships and the East Coast Music awards, we are proud to continue our legacy with the Subway AUS Men's final basketball championship, when we will host teams, players and fans from near and far in Sydney 2010."

Tournament packages will go on sale Monday, October 19th and can be purchased through the Centre 200 Box Office at 902-564-6668 or on-line at: www.centre200.ca.

About Atlantic University Sport

Atlantic University Sport is responsible for governing interuniversity sport in Atlantic Canada and is comprised of 11 member institutions and over 2,000 student-athletes who compete annually for 16 conference championships in 9 different sports, including basketball, cross country, football, hockey, rugby, soccer, swimming, track & field and volleyball. It is the mission of Atlantic University Sport to enhance the educational experience of students in university through sport programs offered by member institutions working in partnership.

For further information, visit www.atlanticuniversitysport.com

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For more information please contact:

Mr. Phil Currie
Executive Director
Atlantic University Sport
(902) 425-4235
pcurrie@atlanticunivesitysport.com