Almere_Pioneers
Almere Pioneers
Basketball team in Almere, Netherlands
Almere Pioneers is a Dutch amateur basketball team based in Almere. The team plays in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second tier league.[1]
| Almere Pioneers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Leagues | Promotiedivisie | ||
| Founded | 1999; 25 years ago (1999) | ||
| History | BC Omniworld Almere 1999–2009 Almere Pioneers 2009–present | ||
| Arena | Topsportcentrum | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Location | Almere, Netherlands | ||
| Team colors | Orange, Red, Purple | ||
| Website | almerepioneers | ||
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The club was founded in 1999 as a professional basketball club named BC Omniworld Almere and participated in the top-tier Eredivisie. The team played its home games in the Topsportcentrum Almere. The 2002–03 season was the best season in Almere's history, as the team reached the Eredivisie finals. In these finals Omniworld lost 0–4 to Amsterdam. In January 2008, the team went bankrupt and was forced to leave the Eredivisie.[2]
A year later, the club changed its name to Almere Pioneers and started playing in the second-tier amateur league Promotiedivisie.[3] In 2013, Pioneers tried to make a comeback to the Eredivisie but failed due to a lack of budget.[4] In 2020, Almere Sailors was established by the Pioneers board. This separate professional club now plays at the highest level of Dutch basketball.
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
Ian Hanavan (2003–2004)
Rogier Jansen (2005–2006)- John Turek (2005–2006)
| Name | Nationality | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Jan Willem Jansen |  Netherlands | 2000 – 2003 |
| Marco van den Berg | Netherlands | 2004 – 2008 |
- "Almere Pioneers". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Basketbalploeg van failliet Omniworld uit de competitie gezet". NRC (in Dutch). 2 January 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- "BC Omniworld gaat verder als Almere Pioneers". Omroepflevoland.nl. 16 May 2009.
- "Almere Pioneers niet naar basketball eredivisie". Omroepflevoland.nl. 12 June 2013.
- Official website (Dutch)
- Eurobasket profile