Franchise History
Founded on 26 April 1967 and then known as the Loughborough All Stars, the Leicester Riders are the oldest club in British basketball.
They were founder members of the National Basketball League in 1972 and the BBL in 1987.
The club moved from Loughborough to Leicester in 1981 before moving back to play at Loughborough University in 1997, barely a stone's throw from Victory Hall where the club played its first game.
In 2004 the Riders agreed a sponsorship deal with De Montfort University (DMU) and moved back to Leicester where they now play their games at the DMU's John Sandford Sports Centre.
In February 2007, the Riders encountered several financial difficulties, which resulted in the team's players and coaches not being paid. Facing the prospect of liquidation half way through the 2006-2007 season, former director of the team, Mike Steptoe, and the supporters club formed a consortium which raised funded enough money to keep the side running.
The clubs future was looking brighter, however, during the close-season following the loss of a major cash-injection, the club were again thrown into financial chaos in August 2007. Given only three weeks to raise the necessary funds to compete for the upcoming 2007-08 season, fans of the club and local business Jelson Homes came together to save the club once again.
Part of the sponsorship deal with Jelson Homes was to ensure the future of the club by investing in a 'basketball in the community' scheme, providing the youth of Leicester with basketball coaching programmes.
Read more about this topic: Leicester Riders
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