Brio Partnership Gives Phoenix High Hopes For Season17 Sep

Brio Leisure’s partnership with basketball club Cheshire Phoenix may inspire a new generation of hoop stars.

That’s the hope of Cllr Paul Donovan, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s portfolio holder for Democracy and Workforce and Chair of Brio Board. He said the club’s decision to move to the Ellesmere Port Sports Village would increase interest and participation in the game.

“A lot of the schools in Ellesmere Port and Chester are already interested in basketball. The more successful the team are, the better facilities provided at the sports village and the ease of access to this great facility, should all help generate more interest in the game and the club.

“As a council we encourage participation in all sports, including basketball, and we want people to adopt a healthier living lifestyle. Working with Brio Leisure and organisations such as Active Cheshire we aim to get more and more young people away from sedentary lifestyles and involved in sport.”

Phoenix Head Coach John Lavery said the partnership with Brio Leisure and the move to the new venue, was already proving popular with the players: “Making the move to this arena is fantastic. You only have to come and see the venue. We now have a 1,400 seater capacity and Brio are doing everything possible to ensure the players have everything they need.”

He added: “Expectations are high and we’ve set ourselves equally high standards. We want to bring some silverwear to the club and the centre. We played at the Northgate Arena for 17 years, capacity for fans has now doubled. Our fans are fantastic and well known throughout the league for their support. The reception they give us and the noise they make during the game is a real boost.”

Kerry Graham, Manager at Ellesmere Port Sports Village added: “It is really exciting for Brio Leisure to be one of Phoenix’s corporate partners and for the local community to see the Phoenix here. It is great for our centre and we hope to encourage more people to come and see the team and increase the club’s fanbase.”

Ahead of Saturday’s first game of the season four first teamers dropped in to see how preparations for the game were going. They met one of the smallest members of the Brio team, former GB gymnast Melanie Roberts, and decided to show her the ‘high life’ as a professional basketball player.

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