History was made at the Sudbury Arena Thursday night.
The Sudbury Five professional basketball team hosted its inaugural home opener to a sold out crowd and fans were not disappointed.
Seats were filled with about 3,600 enthusiastic fans who had this to say to CTV News:
"It’s my first basketball game and I'm just really excited!"
"This is the first ever basketball game I went to."
"We've been waiting for this; we need this in our city."
"I bought seasons tickets to support the team, just to show some support financially."
"Go Five go."
"I think they're going to win."
"I'm really excited to see this new Sudbury Five team perform and see how they play."
The team hosted the National Basketball League of Canada's defending champs, the London Lightning.
But it wasn't just about the basketball, the game featured lots of court-side entertainment and giveaways, including a dance squad.
And not far away, the team’s mascot The Rock Monster played with the crowd.
It's all part of the team's plan to really connect with the community.
"The community outreach that we do is really going to allow our players to connect to individuals throughout the community, and I think they're going to support them." said Vice President of basketball operations Bob Johnston.
He says the team expects to fill about 2,500 seats every home game.
Head Coach and General Manager Logan Stutz says he's feeling lots of support from the community.
"You know, it's great to know they've always got your back. And that's the way I've felt since I arrived, and its only grown up until now, so it’s an awesome feeling." said Stutz.
Sudbury fans were rewarded with an historic first win at home, beating the Lightning 112 to 107.
The Five will be on the road next for a game against the Windsor Express before returning to host Windsor back at the Sudbury Arena on December 1st.
