Venue
Niagara River Lions History
The Niagara River Lions are a professional basketball team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). Based in St. Catharines, Ontario, the Niagara River Lions were founded in 2015 as an expansion franchise in the National Basketball League of Canada and moved to the CEBL for its inaugural 2019 season. The River Lions held the highest regular season record in their first CEBL season and advanced to the postseason semifinals before falling to regional rivals, the Brampton Honey Badgers. In 2021, the team played in their first CEBL Championship game, and qualified for back-to-back semifinals in 2022 and 2023, the latter of which followed another first-seed placement in the regular season. Over the years, the River Lions organization has garnered accolades such as three Defensive Player of the Year awards, three All-CEBL placements and one recipient each for Player of the Year, Canadian Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Niagara River Lions Team Info
Conference: Eastern
Team Colors: Green, Navy Blue, Grey
Team Rivals: Brampton Honey Badgers, Scarborough Shooting Stars
Niagara River Lions at Meridian Centre
The Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario has been home to the Niagara River Lions since 2015. The 5,300-seat facility opened in 2014 and housed the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs from the outset, adding the River Lions the following year for their debut in the National Basketball League of Canada. Following the team’s entry into the CEBL in 2019, Meridian Centre played host for the league’s entire 2020 Summer Series, including the season’s CEBL Championship game. Fans attending Niagara River Lions’ home games can also catch team mascot Dunkin the River Lion prowling in the stands.
To connect with the Niagara River Lions:
The schedule for the Niagara River Lions’s 2024 basketball season can be found on the team’s website.
Tickets for the Niagara River Lions’s 2024 regular season can be purchased via Ticketmaster.
Meridian Centre, home of the CEBL’s Niagara River Lions, is located in St. Catharines, Ontario. The street address for Meridian Centre is 1 David S. Howes Way.
GREAT LIVE EVENT TO WATCH . THE VIBE INSIDE THE ARENA WAS AWESOME AND BASKETBALL WAS HIGH QUALITY . MY FAMILY AND MYSELF REALLY ENJOYED . ALSO SHOUT OUT TO LOCAL BAR THE MERCHANT ALE HOUSE . GREAT FOOD AND BEER. LOCATED RIGHT BY THE ARENA. TRY THE WHITE STOUT
Great seats, a Lions WIN, lots of fan give-aways and friendly staff, all this makes for a wonderful fan experience, and creates a return customer :-)
I Enjoyed the game and the Atmosphere. The game was fast pace and fun . The give away promotions were very good as well . Seating was clise to the action . The music played even when the ball was in play i found a little distracting and the clock turned off with about 3 minutes left in the 4th period and they played first team to 100 wins . Which was interesting to say the least. Overall it was a great time . My date enjoyed the game as well ill definitely go back . If you're looking for a fun and entertaining night i recommend the River Lions Games !!
Game was good. DJ playing music throughout game play was not good. In between sure but not when the action is on. Cheerleaders were dancing in the dark nobody could even see them. Missed the air balloon as it stayed in only one area. Cheerleaders can’t throw worth beans so lots of people on higher levels missed out on tshirt giveaway opportunities. Ouse makers etc were good and the bracelets were neat. Fireworks were a nice touch. I wanted to buy merchandise but didn’t like anything. Found the quality went way down! First couple years when the team started had better quality sports shirts, hoodies etc. Now just cotton and bad graphics. Bring back the quality like in the beginning. I walked out disappointed. I even went o line after the game and it was the same garbage.
Saw my fist game last year… attended a few more games and the experiences were all fun! This resulted in my purchasing a package of 6 tickets for this year and so happy I did! Attended the opening game this past weekend and was NOT disappointed. The River Lions played well and handedly won! The energy and fun was amazing!
Seats were great for the cost Teams played well Fun!
My son is a huge fan of basketball. To see the excitement on his face when I had the chance to bring him to a live game, that was definitely affordable, was absolutely priceless! The Riverlions play a great game of basketball with lots of excitement all around
Everyone had a great time. The seats were close and the game was exciting.
The game was fine but the experience was not pleasurable since music was played during all play except during free throws. If I wanted to go to a concert I would have.
Interesting to see the professional players, we had fun especially when they did the slam dunk. Good venue and fun autograph session afterwards.
