Caledonia Gladiators start new East Kilbride era as they host first game in £20m Playsport arena

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Caledonia Gladiators will play their first game in their new £20million purpose-built arena at Playsport in East Kilbride tomorrow (Thursday), starting a new era for the club.Gladiators have moved from the Emirates Arena in Glasgow to the South Lanarkshire town, and entertain Surrey Scorchers in the British Basketball League tomorrow evening.Groundworks on the new facility began in March, transforming the space into a 1600-seater stadium.Supporters will get a chance to experience the club’s new fan zone, featuring a variety of hospitality options, seated eating areas and big-screen TVs.They will then go courtside to the club’s Saltire-branded stands for their game against Scorchers, which starts at 7.45pm.Coach Gareth Murray says this is a major step in the right direction for a club that has been transformed in the last 12 months.Gladiators won the BBL Trophy last season – their first silverware in 20 years – and narrowly lost out in a Basketball Champions League qualifier against Fribourg Olympic in Turkey last week, which will see them drop down to the FIBA Europe Cup for six games.Murray hopes the new set-up will create a pathway that will see more people playing the game.But he also has high ambitions on the court, too, and wants Gladiators to be in the top two this season.“Winning the trophy was the highlight last season, moving intothe new arena, we’ll be playing there on October 5 in our first game of the season at home, so everything’s moving pretty quickly,” he said. “The club has definitely transformed in the last 12 months and we’re going in the right direction.“The facilities are honestly amazing.