SlamBall coming to Las Vegas for sixth season

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After a 15-year hiatus in the United States, SlamBall is returning and officials have chosen Las Vegas as the spot for season six.

The sport was first created by Mason Gordon and Mike Tollin back in 1999 and games were first played in 2002. SlamBall combines elements of basketball, football, ice hockey, and trampolines.

Each game is 20 minutes long. Four players are on the court at a time for each team. Players compete on a spring-loaded court that can make them go up to 18 feet in the air. Slam dunks and shots beyond the arc are worth three points. Hard-hitting body checks in the open floor and into the boards are allowed. However, there are also fouls and when that happens, players face-off by going one-on-one at the rim.

According to the league, there will be eight teams that will each have seven players. There will be four league-wide reserve players. SlamBall officials said 56 players were drafted on June 18 and training camp is underway in Las Vegas.

"It's clear that this is the best talent we have had in the sport's history," Gordon said. "This group has a great combination of skill, size and professionalism. We are starting from a very, very good place."

The league said players are "elite professional athletes with a unique blend of skills and attributes" and they usually come from college basketball and football programs. The first pick in the 2023 SlamBall Draft was Bryce Morange, who used to play basketball at Florida A&M.

"Bryce looks like the most complete player that we've ever seen in SlamBall," Gordon said.

The last time SlamBall games took place in the United States was at Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles back in 2008. However, league officials said demand has grown to the point where they decided to bring back the league. According to the league, the hashtag #BringBackSlamBall has gotten more than 200 million views on social media.

"It's an incredible feeling to be back and especially by popular demand," Gordon said. "I want to thank SlamBall's persistent and passionate fans for making this comeback possible and our investors for helping make the dream real. This is a true Cinderella story - only with helmets, pads, and trampolines."

The league recently closed an $11 million Series A round led by Roger Ehrenberg's IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital. There are some heavy sports hitters joining as investors including six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin, David Blitzer, who is a minority owner for the Cleveland Guardians, David Adelman, who is a partner at a firm that owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, and Kevin Nagle, who is also an investor in the Sacramento Kings.

"It's rare to have the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of a 'new' sports league with millions of fans already roaring their support from the virtual stadiums of social media," said Ehrenberg. "We're going to create an unforgettable experience for both old and new fans."

The season kicks off on July 21 and ends on August 19. All games will be played at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. The league said there will be 90 regular season games and five playoff games.

The league said ticket information, team rosters, names, and logos will be announced soon.