Milton Keynes is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over 256,000. The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 2004, following Wimbledon F.C.'s controversial relocation to Milton Keynes from south London, when it adopted its present name, badge and home colours.
The National Bowl is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit, filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area. It has a maximum capacity of 65,000. The arena is open-air grassland, without seats.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City development. It contains the Olympic stadium, now known as the London Stadium, and the Olympic swimming pool together with the athletes' Olympic Village and several other Olympic sporting venues and the London Olympics Media Centre. The park is overlooked by the ArcelorMittal Orbit, an observation tower and Britain's largest piece of public art.
The Manchester Giants are a British professional basketball team based in Manchester, England. The franchise was established in 2011, and admitted to the top-tier British Basketball League in 2012. The team's formation was led by a consortium headed by Graham Herstell. As of 2020, the team play their home games at the National Basketball Performance Centre in the Belle Vue area of the city.
London Lions are a British professional basketball team based in Stratford, East London, England, and compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. The team was originally founded in 1977 as the Hemel Hempstead Lakers, and has previously been based in Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Milton Keynes. The team moved to London in 2012 and, since 2013, has played its home games at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Sport in Milton Keynes covers a range of professional and amateur sport in the City of Milton Keynes unitary authority area. In 2019, Milton Keynes was officially designated as a European City of Sport for 2020. There are professional teams in football, in motorsport and in ice hockey. The National Badminton Centre, and the Marshall Milton Keynes Athletic Club train professional and amateur athletes. Most other sports feature at amateur level although there are semi-professional teams in rugby union and football among other sports. There is an international-standard karting track owned by Daytona Motorsport.
Stadium MK is a football ground in the Denbigh district of Bletchley in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Designed by Populous and opened in 2007, it is the home ground of EFL League One side Milton Keynes Dons and FA Women's National League South side Milton Keynes Dons Women. In 2022, the stadium hosted several matches during the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.
The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre:mk which opened in 1979, and Midsummer Place opened in 2000. The centre:mk is anchored by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The complex is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, with the size of 120,773 sq metres.
The Bletchley Leisure Centre is an indoor leisure facility in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.
The Marshall Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, located beside Stadium MK. The 3,420 square metres (36,800 sq ft) multi-use event space is positioned over three floors and anticipates music and sporting events, conferences, exhibitions and parties.
Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes is a 2,800-capacity multi-purpose ice rink/hockey rink located in Milton Keynes, England, as part of the Leisure Plaza complex.
The Milton Keynes Lions College Lions, are a basketball academy team from Milton Keynes, England, with all players attending Milton Keynes College.The academy is coached, funded and run by a partnership between Milton Keynes College, and the 'London Lions' professional basketball team, who play in the British Basketball League.
The Copper Box Arena is a multi-sport venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England.
The 1998–99 BBL season was the 12th season of the British Basketball League, known as the Budweiser Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, since its establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on September 12, 1998, and ended on April 4, 1999, with a total of 13 teams competing, playing 36 games each. The post-season Play-offs began on April 9 and culminated in the end-of-season finale on May 2 at Wembley Arena.
The 2009–10 BBL season of the British Basketball League (BBL) was the 23rd season since the league's establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on 25 September 2009, when Milton Keynes Lions claimed the first win of the season with a 94–81 victory in the opening game against Worcester Wolves.
The 2010–11 BBL season was the 24th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. This season saw the league reduced to 12 teams with the withdrawal of London Capital during the summer and was the first campaign ever to not feature a club from the capital city London.
The 2011–12 BBL season was the 25th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 11 teams from across England and Scotland, with Durham Wildcats appearing in their first campaign after election from EBL Division 1. The League did not feature two teams from the previous season; Worthing Thunder had stepped down to the EBL, whilst Essex Pirates withdrew just two weeks prior to the season starting due to the loss of a major sponsor. There was also uncertainty regarding the participation of reigning champions Mersey Tigers, who had to postpone their first game due to off-court problems and operational issues.
The 2012–13 BBL season was the 26th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland including a new entrant, the reformed Manchester Giants, who were based on the original franchise of the same name that folded in 2001. East London Royals were due to become the 13th member of the League, but after their financial backing fell through weeks before the start of the season, the League deferred their entry until the 2013–14 season. The pre-season also saw long-time member franchise Milton Keynes Lions relocate to London and rebrand itself as the London Lions, whilst Cheshire Jets – encountering severe financial difficulties and threatened with the franchise being dissolved – were saved by campaigning local fans and businessmen and renamed as Cheshire Phoenix midway through the season.
Relocation of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom is a practice which involves a sports team moving from one metropolitan area to another, although occasionally moves between municipalities in the same conurbation are also included. For relocations in other part of the world see Relocation of professional sports teams.
