Essex Pirates

Essex Pirates were a British Basketball League team from Southend-on-Sea, in the county of Essex. They were founded in 2009 and played their home games at the Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre. Following the loss of a major sponsor, the franchise withdrew from the league just two weeks prior to the start of the 2011-12 season and have remained inactive since, with much of their former fan-base now following Essex Leopards.

History
Basketball in Essex
Prior to the creation of the Pirates franchise in 2009, the county of Essex had previous flirtations with top-level basketball through the Essex Leopards franchise, still a synonymous name with the area. After mounting costs forced the Greater London Leopards to look away from their traditional London Arena home, the franchise moved out of...