Lancashire Spinners are bringing elite basketball to Blackburn!

The Spinners have selected Blackburn College as their home venue for the Lancashire Spinners games in the England Basketball Division 4 next season in an exciting partnership with the College and Blackburn Leisure.

Some of Lancashire's best basketball players will be suiting up in the National League that features teams from Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool as well as local rivals Preston and Myerscough.

The games will be played on Saturday afternoons at the brand new Blackburn College £13.5m sports facility.

The new partnership with the college promises to be a fruitful one as several of the Spinners players will be studying at the college and playing basketball in the college academy and BUCS programme.

The arrival of the Lancashire Spinners represents a new opportunity for basketball in Blackburn as the Spinners and the College are looking at ways that they can develop the sport within the area through schools coaching, basketball camps and outreach events.

Spinners Elite Coaching lead Dan Byrne, who will also coach the Spinners Division 4, and Blackburn College Academy team said: “We’re looking forward an exciting partnership with the college.

“We have a terrific new facility to play in that meshes perfectly with the high quality brand of the Spinners.

“We want to really support basketball across Lancashire through our network of colleges and schools including Blackburn College as a focus point for some of our activities.”

Spinners General Manager Ken Masser added, “We’re excited to have a base in Blackburn and a Partnership with Blackburn College.

“With our top team playing at a National level in Bury and our elite development team playing in Blackburn we are in a great position to develop two centres of strength along with our satellite partnerships with existing participation programmes across Lancashire.”

Cllr Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure added: “The new Leisure Centre will offer first class sporting facilities for a number of community clubs across the Borough and beyond.

“They can block book the facilities in the evenings from September by emailing blc@blackburn.gov.uk or calling 01254 268800.”

Damian Stewart the Curriculum Area Manager at Blackburn College was equally as excited about the partnership.

He said: “We are delighted to be developing this relationship with the Lancashire Spinners. We are excited to offer top class education and brilliant new facilities, combined with the elite basketball club in Lancashire, the Lancashire Spinners.

“We look forward to seeing the relationship grow and develop in the future and to welcome many of the countries elite young basketball players to the college.”

Details about the team and the fixtures are coming soon: www. lancashirespinners.co.uk The Lancashire Spinners are launching with a charity game at the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury on Friday 12th September, 7pm for the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.

Tickets available www.joshwilson.org.uk/shop.