Saskatchewan Rattlers rebranded as Saskatoon Mamba

The Saskatchewan Rattlers basketball team is undergoing wholesale changes. Keenan Sorokan reports.

The Saskatchewan Rattlers basketball team is undergoing wholesale changes.

Jason Ribeiro and Usman Tahir Jutt were introduced as the team’s ownership group at a media event Wednesday morning. The duo also operates the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Calgary Surge.

Rebranded as the Mamba, the team, which won the inaugural CEBL championship, will have a new colour scheme and logo. It will play its eighth season in two locations, with seven games at its longtime home of SaskTel Centre, and eight at Merlis Belsher Place.

Ribeiro says the changes are about reinvigorating the community and the fanbase and not reinventing the team.

“You felt it in the room,” Ribeiro said minutes after unveiling the new identity to a crowd gathered at Merlis Belsher Place.

“Something’s different, and I think it was equally about charting a new path, introducing a new era, but frankly, outside of all the smoke and brand and all that good stuff — making real, tangible changes in the way that this business, this entity, this cultural vehicle operates in the city of Saskatoon.”

Staying close to it’s Rattler roots, the Mamba are welcoming fans to embrace the team’s history on July 15 when the team will suit up as the Rattlers.

“Mamba maintains the franchise’s identity as a venomous snake with a modern look, feel, and sound, and is a deliberate acknowledgement of the franchise’s origins as the Rattlers,” the CEBL said in a press release. “The typeface and icon reflect the same curvature and bend present in the City of Saskatoon’s logo. The team’s primary colour is a bold and vibrant purple.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

CEBL president Tyler Mazereeuw is happy to welcome a new vision for the Saskatoon market, while securing some stability moving forward.

“A strong Saskatchewan is a strong Canadian Elite Basketball League. We are Canada’s pro basketball league. You can’t have a hole in the middle of the country,” he said.

2024 Olympian and three-time FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Champion Paige Crozon revealed the team’s new name and logo at the event.

“Basketball has a special place in Saskatoon, and our community has shown how deeply we love and support the game,” Mayor of Saskatoon Cynthia Block said in the announcement.

“As we turn the page and welcome a new ownership group, we do so with pride, excitement, and a continued commitment to celebrating professional basketball in our city.”

Given two rival teams having the same owners, Mazereeuw said the Surge and Mamba will need to have separation operations teams to comply with the league office.

When the CEBL began play in 2019, all six teams were owned by Canadian Basketball Ventures, the ownership corporation of the league. Now, all 10 teams are privately owned, which Mazereeuw says has always been the goal.

“Now that all teams are with private ownership, and you’ve got individuals on the ground connected in the community; we’re going to strengthen the foundation,” he said.

As part of the team’s partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, Mamba season ticket holders will get two vouchers to Huskies Athletics games. Huskies season ticket holders will also get two Mamba game vouchers.

Ribeiro says despite the recent struggles of the team he has no intentions of moving the team elsewhere, and wants it to stay in Saskatoon for years to come.

“I’ve actively been following the market for over a year, really thinking about the fact that I think we could do more in Saskatoon. We could do more in Saskatchewan. And the operating model just wasn’t there for this team. It wasn’t because of the city. It was really because I think there was not a clear vision, win, lose or draw for what this franchise should mean to the city,” he said.

The search for a management team and coach is underway, with the new-look Saskatoon Mamba tipping off the 2026 CEBL season May 14.