The Grand Rapids Hoops were a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team that played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

based in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand Rapids with the

Grand Rapids Flight The Grand Rapids Flight were a team in the International Basketball League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Flight underwent a office change in 2007 when David Fox took over the roles of General manager and Head Coach from founder Tyler Whit ...

in 2004.

League history

The team started and played in the Continental Basketball Association until the league folded in 2001. They joined the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. Th ...

for one season before returning to a resurrected CBA the following year where they stayed until their demise.

Name history

The team first played in 1989 as the ''Grand Rapids Hoops''. When the team was sold in 1995 to the people who ran the ''Gus Macker 3-on-3'' Scott McNeal, the nickname changed to the ''Grand Rapids Mackers.'' The team was sold again a year later to an investment group with Bob Przybysz as the managing partner and the name reverted to the ''Grand Rapids Hoops''.

Home court history

The Grand Rapids Hoops began their play in

Welsh Auditorium Welsh Auditorium also known as "Civic Auditorium," was a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The front façade and lobby remain today. History According to the History of Grand Rapids: "Though desired f ...

in 1989. When the

Van Andel Arena Van Andel Arena is a 12,000 plus seat multi-purpose arena, situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. It is home to the Grand Rapid ...

opened in the mid 1996, the Hoops moved there joining the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

as tenants. As attendance fell, the team moved to the DeltaPlex, a smaller arena located out of the downtown area. The team disbanded in 2003. The franchise was purchased and moved to nearby Muskegon's LC Walker Arena and renamed the

Michigan Mayhem The Michigan Mayhem was a minor league professional basketball team based in Muskegon, Michigan that competed in the Continental Basketball Association. In the CBA's 2004-05 season the Mayhem finished third in the league's Eastern Conference. The ...

in 2004, which has now been disbanded as well.

References

Continental Basketball Association teams Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan Basketball teams established in 1989 Basketball teams in Michigan Basketball teams disestablished in 2003 1989 establishments in Michigan 2003 disestablishments in Michigan International Basketball League (1999–2001) teams {{Michigan-basketball-team-stub