Local owners buy CEBL's B.C. team, rebrand as Vancouver Bandits

A new era is underway for one of the Canadian Elite Basketball League's original six teams.

The club formerly known as the Fraser Valley Bandits announced Tuesday that the team has been sold to local owners Kevin Dhaliwal and Bryan Slusarchuk, and rebranded as the Vancouver Bandits.

"It's not a profit-loss thing for us," said Dhaliwal, founder of real estate developers Essence Properties. "It's more about creating that atmosphere, that energy in the building. Our No. 1 goal is to draw fans."

The Bandits follow the Scarborough Shooting Stars as the second CEBL team to be operated by outside ownership. Eight other teams continue to be owned by the league.

The deal prompted the club to rebrand as the Vancouver Bandits.

A lot of people still don't know there's a team playing just outside of the big city, Dhaliwal said.

"I was looking at some of the comments on the league's Instagram and they asked a question, 'Which city should get a team next?' And a lot of comments were saying Vancouver. And I was like 'We have a team!'" he said.

A new energy, fuelled by the west.