Local Edmonton Group Buys Edmonton Stingers Basketball Team

February 23rd, 2023, Edmonton AB - The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) has announced that the Edmonton Stingers have been purchased by Stingers Entertainment Group (SEG)—a partnership between three Edmontonians: Reed Clarke, Taranvir (Tank) Vander, and James Burns.  Clarke will remain President while stepping into a new role as Chief Executive Officer and Partner, while Vander and Burns will act as Managing Partners. The team was formerly owned by the CEBL. 

“On behalf of the CEBL Board of Governors, I am very excited to announce the purchase of the two-time CEBL Champion Edmonton Stingers by Stingers Entertainment Group,” said CEBL Commissioner and Co-Founder Mike Morreale. “Reed is a life-long Edmontonian while Tank and James are Edmonton transplants who bring proven business acumen, local industry experience and share the passion for the tremendous community-based work that Reed and his Stingers staff have already accomplished in the greater Edmonton market. This purchase by local owners continues to strengthen the CEBL's position as a mainstay in Canadian professional sport."

The Stingers are the sixth CEBL team to move to local ownership, joining the Niagara River Lions, Scarborough Shooting Stars, Vancouver Bandits, Calgary Surge, and Winnipeg Sea Bears.

“As someone new to Canada in the early nineties, hockey was an alien sport for me, I grew up playing basketball and cricket in my youth,” said Vander. “My kids naturally gravitated to basketball at school level as NBA was the only sport on TV at home. I am excited to be part of this team and hope to drive community engagement and get more new Canadians involved in this great sport.”

“Having two prominent business leaders such as Tank and James join me in buying the Stingers is really the culmination and validation of years of hard work from everyone who has been involved with the Stingers since day one,” said Clarke. “ With our Stingers Entertainment Group being Edmonton-based owners, we are now in a position to take our team and our organization’s community involvement to the next level. SEG is committed to being a positive force across the Edmonton region 12 months a year. There will be more news to come on that front in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!”

The Stingers will kick start the 2023 season with a back-to-back series against the newly- formed Calgary Surge- first in Calgary on Saturday, May 27 and then home in Edmonton at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 28.  This is an exciting way to begin a new rivalry and add to the long existing one in hockey and football between Alberta’s two major cities.

Season tickets are now available starting as low as $190 for all 10 home games this summer. If the Stingers host a playoff game, that is included for free for season ticket holders.  Basketball fans across the Edmonton region who want to be part of the excitement and energy as our two-time champions shoot for number three can head to www.thestingers.ca for more details on tickets and the 2023 schedule.

Reed Clarke

Clarke has served as president of the Stingers since November 2021 and led the team through the 2022 season.  He has led the Stingers organization through numerous community programs and initiatives in the 2022-23 offseason. Prior to his work with the Stingers, Clarke served as Director of Marketing at Auto Canada. 

Tank Vander

Vander, longtime business partner of Burns, helped cofound Ace Liquor and currently serves as President (Liquor Division) at SNDL (formerly Alcanna INC.). He is an avid sports fan and active member of the community. 

James Burns

Burns has a long history in business and basketball in Canada. He was co-head of the 1994 World Championships of Basketball in Toronto and key advisor to John Bitove in first attracting the NBA to Canada and then establishing and launching  the Toronto Raptors. He served as a director of Canada Basketball for three years. Most recently he was Vice-Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Alcanna, one of Edmonton’s largest publicly-traded companies with over 2,500 employees.

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees.  The CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.