Winnipeg Sea Bears

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are the newest member of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, bringing professional basketball to Manitoba for its inaugural season in 2023.

The team plays out of Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg from May until the end of July.

The Sea Bears nickname was chosen in honour of the largest bear in the world, the polar bear whose Latin name, Ursus maritimus, means “Sea Bear”. The Arctic’s top predator is emblematic of Manitoba’s north and pays homage to the bear as a species under stress that shares the land in the north with the Dene people. Winnipeg is home to the world’s largest gallery of Inuit and Dene art, and the polar bear is a symbol of the north and its people. Winnipeg is also home to the world’s largest polar bear conservation organization. The Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg includes the world-renowned Journey to Churchill polar bear exhibit.

“As someone with a long history of community service, bringing this team and the CEBL to Winnipeg is as much about the league’s overt commitment to diversity, immigrant and newcomer communities, and doing that through the lens of culture, music, food, as it is about the business of professional basketball,” said David Asper, the team's owner. “Manitoba has a historically strong basketball community that is growing every year both organically and as a sport that is easy for all people to participate in. Basketball has the power to include and unite, and the Winnipeg Sea Bears will serve an important role in further fostering those values.”

Tickets are on sale now at www.seabears.ca.

The team’s social handle @wpgseabears may be followed on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

The CEBL features 10 teams in six provinces, making it the largest pro sports league in Canada. The CEBL has 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 leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U Sports. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.