Adelaide 36ers to open new home at the Entertainment Centre with a nod to their past as Brett Maher’s name remains on their court
The Adelaide 36ers step out on their new court at new home the Entertainment Centre tonight — but there will be a nod to their past with Brett Maher’s name to remain front and centre. See the first pictures inside the new venue here.
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The Adelaide 36ers will begin a bold new chapter of their history at the Entertainment Centre on Friday night while giving a nod to the past with club legend Brett Maher’s name to remain on their court.
The Sixers will play their first game at their new home on Port Road, albeit a pre-season hit-out against Melbourne United, but it will give themselves and their fans a taste of what to expect when the regular season begins next month.
Maher, who won three championships with Adelaide, was a six-time MVP, long-time captain and has his No. 5 jersey retired by the club, formed part of a past players committee to ensure the 36ers’ history was reflected at its new venue.
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That will include past players’ jerseys hanging from the rafters and a photo and memorabilia wall to celebrate its journey.
While not all features will be finished by Friday night, the new giant ‘cube’ scoreboard will be operational and the German-made floor, named in honour of Maher, has been laid.
“It’s a huge honour and kind of more of a recognition than anything of past service to the club,” Maher said.
“It’s been such a huge part of my life and it’s just a big honour to have it down on the court, whether it be at the old stadium or now towards the future moving forward taking that history with the club.
“I think it’s something other sports do really well and something that basketball probably needs to improve on and that just comes back to resources. Adelaide is doing a really good job of trying to recognise as much of the history as it can in this new venture and I’m really excited to see the new additions at the new venue because I think it’s going to look pretty spectacular.
“It’s (Entertainment Centre) a move forward. We’ve seen it work really well in other states where people have moved towards the city, just making it a little bit more accessible for everyone to get to.
“It’s obviously worked very well for the AFL teams here in Adelaide and I think moving to the Entertainment Centre, which is a state-of-the-art facility and close to the city, I’m excited to see more people getting involved that potentially wouldn’t have come in the past.”
After a winless weekend at the NBL’s pre-season blitz in Tasmania last week, Adelaide hit back with a 93-67 win over New Zealand at their old home Titanium Security Arena on Tuesday night.
Tip-off against Melbourne United on Friday night is 7pm which is Adelaide’s last game before flying to the US next week to play NBA side the Utah Jazz.
reece.homfray@news.com.au