Cheshire Jets Club Information

The Cheshire Jets are a British professional basketball team based in the city of Chester.

Formerly known as the Chester Jets, their home court is the Northgate Arena and they play in the top-tier British Basketball League (BBL).

The team was first formed from the ruins of the Ellesmere Port team, the St Saviours in 1984. The team was initially named after their sponsors 'Motocraft Centre Ellesmere Port'. However, after the loss of their sponsor, they renamed themselves Ellesmere Port Jets.

The Jets were admitted to NBL Division 2 in 1986 and showed little sign of what was to come as they finished last in their first season, with just a single victory. Edging up to seventh in 1987-88, they then changed their name to Cheshire Jets, though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port.

They continued a steady mid-table development until, in 1991, they won the divisional title despite suffering five defeats. The same year, the Jets moved up into the BBL joining in with Britain's elite basketball teams. Later however, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to what is now the Chester Jets.

The real turning point for the Jets came in 1996, when the application of the Bosman ruling to basketball resulted in the departure of many of the top English players to European clubs, and the BBL changed its eligibility rule to entitle teams to use five non-national players.

Astute trans-Atlantic recruitment by coach and co-owner Mike Burton resulted in a highly competitive team, which finished fifth in the League table in 1997. They have remained highly competitive ever since, with best-ever performances in 2002 (Northern Conference Champions) and 2003 (3rd in the re-unified League), and a string of successes in the BBL trophy (4-times winners, from 2001 to 2004), culminating in the League Championship in 2005.

On April 7, 2007, prior to the Jets' season finale at home to Guildford Heat, an 81-102 defeat, club owner and head coach Mike Burton formally announced that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the 2006-07 season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, raised serious doubts of the clubs' future, with mounting debts and lack of financial backing. Shortly after the announcement, group of fans formed a committee to help save the club, while arranging several meetings and fund-raisers, the dedication and commitment publicly received the backing of players including Jets legend James Hamilton. The Jets was renamed as the Cheshire Jets to cover the wider demographic of Cheshire.

For more details or to contact the Jets directly, please visit their website.