Den Helder Kings will get its own sportcenter

Den Helder Kings will get its own sportcenter. The owners of Dante Real Estate Ltd. are Paul Mijnen and Rob Waardenburg.

,,That we have purchased this property is purely born from the idea of supporting basketball” said Waardenburg. ,,Our enthusiasm has made us decide to buy SportCenter so we will create a stable base for professional basketball in Den Helder.”

It will be the first time ever in Dutch Basketball history that the gym in which a professional team will play, will also be owned by their main sponsor. That puts the Den Helder Kings in a truly unique position.

Meanwhile, for the renovation of the property Dante Real Estate Ltd. received several bids from contractors. The main hall of the building in which the Den Helder Kings will play and practice, was declared unsafe by the local fire department so no more activity could take place there as long a renovation plan has not been presented. Once a concrete action plan has been submitted to the municipality (and fire department), the basketball teams of the Den Helder Kings can start using gym. General Manager Peter Meijer;

“I assume that the municipality has to keep their promises. We have kept our word and I am assuming that we can play our first league game on 6 October.”

Basketball has a very rich tradition in Den Helder. Both the men’s and women’s team have won several championships and participated succesfully in international competition.

Especially the men’s team was a dangerous outsider in international basketball in the early nineties of the last century and also formed the bulk of the Dutch national team for many years.

In this century Den Helder had to withdraw twice from the Dutch Basketball league due to bankruptcy but now they are back again as the Den Helder Kings. With the strong support of the local community and the many sponsors Den Helder Kings could be the dark horse of the Dutch Basketball League this year.