London Lions duo excited by Copper Box move

A view of the Copper Box in the Olympic Park, London. Picture; Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

By Tom Moore Monday, February 25, 2013
3:34 PM

London Lions head coach Vincent Macaulay is excited by the prospect of moving into the Copper Box for the 2013-14 British Basketball League season.

The Lions used to play in Milton Keynes but, because they failed to find a permanent home, rebranded and moved to London.

Support in the capital has grown with the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre selling out for their recent games, including Sunday’s 81-64 win over Manchester Giants.

The head coach said: “You can feel the excitement all around. We want to do it justice and the guys are delighted to play in front of a large audience.”

Macaulay is expecting to see crowd sizes increase dramatically with the move into the former Olympic venue.

“I think that’s what is going to happen,” he explained. “Everyone is going to get on board.

“We’re moving to a previous Olympic venue and people will want to come.”

The head coach’s views are shared by forward Adrien Sturt who is excited by the prospect of moving home.

“It’s very exciting,” he admitted. “I’m looking forward to playing there. We went and had a look at the place a couple of weeks back.”

Sturt, originally from Australia, was back Down Under during the London 2012 Games last year but is delighted that he is going to be a part of the legacy from the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’

He said: “I did catch glimpses of it here and there. I was in Australia.

“To keep the legacy going for the Olympics in London is great.

“That place seats about 7,000 people so the more people we can get to these games and the more we can get next season is great.”

Sturt has been loving the atmosphere at Crystal Palace and has been grateful for the support.

“The crowds have been great,” he explained. “Credit to the staff that promote the game and the people that come down each week to support us. The more there are the better it is.”