108-594: London Lions are a British professional basketball team based in Stratford , East London , England , and compete in the Super League Basketball (SLB). The team was originally founded in 1977 as the Hemel Hempstead Lakers . Following an ownership take over by Vince Macaulay in 1993, the club subsequently relocated to Watford , and then Milton Keynes , where they were known as Milton Keynes Lions . It
216-626: A Peace Pagoda , which was built in 1980 and was the first built by the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order in the western world. The original Wolverton was a medieval settlement just north and west of today's town. The ridge and furrow pattern of agriculture can still be seen in the nearby fields. The 12th century (rebuilt in 1819) 'Church of the Holy Trinity' still stands next to the Norman motte and bailey site. Modern Wolverton
324-523: A 1,400-seat basketball arena and practice venue. The venue opened as the MK Lions Arena at the end of November 2010. 2010–11 season In his first season as head coach, former Lions player Mike New led the team to a disappointing 10th-place finish in the British Basketball League. Despite now boasting a fantastic full-time basketball venue, which featured two permanent courts – allowing
432-674: A European competition. On 13 October 2021, the Lions beat Donar Groningen away to register their first-ever European win. In the 2022–23 season the London Lions appeared in the Eurocup for the first time, reaching the playoffs but being knocked out in the first round. In the 2023–24 season the Lions went further, reaching the semi-finals of Europe's second-tier competition, becoming the first British team to do so. The Lions were beaten by heavy tournament favourites Paris Basketball . In June 2024, it
540-499: A deal with the proposed arena's owners would be unlikely before the deadline he was facing of the start of the next season. Second was Liverpool, Macaulay's hometown. Liverpool already had a BBL franchise – the Mersey Tigers , however, they were in financial trouble so Macaulay proposed merging the two teams and a 50/50 ownership. The current owners were interested but wanted Macaulay to send them his CV. Somewhat offended, he knew such
648-644: A further generation of new towns in the South East of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. Since the 1950s, overspill housing for several London boroughs had been constructed in Bletchley . Further studies in the 1960s identified north Buckinghamshire as a possible site for a large new town, a new city, encompassing the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford , and Wolverton . The New Town (informally and in planning documents, 'New City')
756-752: A golf course and a farm". The Grand Union Canal is another green route (and demonstrates the level geography of the area – there is just one minor lock in its entire 10-mile (16 km) meandering route through from the southern boundary near Fenny Stratford to the "Iron Trunk" aqueduct over the Ouse at Wolverton at its northern boundary). The initial park system was planned by Peter Youngman (Chief Landscape Architect ), who also developed landscape precepts for all development areas: groups of grid squares were to be planted with different selections of trees and shrubs to give them distinct identities. The detailed planning and landscape design of parks and of
864-401: A grid-road bus-stop. Consequently, each grid square is a semi-autonomous community, making a unique collective of 100 clearly identifiable neighbourhoods within the overall urban environment. The grid squares have a variety of development styles, ranging from conventional urban development and industrial parks to original rural and modern urban and suburban developments. Most grid squares have
972-413: A key element of the planners' vision, Milton Keynes has a purpose built centre, with a very large "covered high street" shopping centre, a theatre , municipal art gallery , a multiplex cinema , hotels, central business district , an ecumenical church , Milton Keynes Civic Offices and central railway station . Campbell Park , a formal park extending east from the business area to
1080-449: A local centre, intended as a retail hub, and many have community facilities as well. Each of the original villages is the heart of its own grid-square. Originally intended under the master plan to sit alongside the grid roads, these local centres were mostly in fact built embedded in the communities. Although the 1970 master plan assumed cross-road junctions, roundabout junctions were built at intersections because this type of junction
1188-517: A new base for Lions home games, which included public pleas to local businesses for help in finding a new home as offers from cities around the UK poured in to relocate the team. On 17 July, a local newspaper revealed negotiations to secure the Lions' future in Milton Keynes were ongoing, with Macaulay hoping to finalise a deal with sufficient time to begin preparation for the new season, slated to begin away to
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#17328585550561296-517: A programme of intensive planting, balancing lakes and parkland. Central Milton Keynes ("CMK") was not intended to be a traditional town centre but a central business and shopping district to supplement local centres embedded in most of the grid squares. This non-hierarchical devolved city plan was a departure from the English new towns tradition and envisaged a wide range of industry and diversity of housing styles and tenures. The largest and almost
1404-616: A shortfall that the Council aims to rectify. In January 2019, the council and its partner, Cranfield University, invited proposals to design a campus near the Central station for a new university, code-named MK:U . However this project seems unlikely to proceed, following a government decision in January 2023 to deny funding. In June 2023, the Open University announced that it would "initiate work on
1512-578: A sold-out Prestige Homes Arena, before suffering a 188–186 defeat on aggregate (after OT) in the return leg. Success was however found on a personal level, as Nathan Schall won the BBL dunk competition as part of the BBL Cup Final festivities and Stefan Gill completed the dunking double as he was crowned dunk contest champion at the World Basketball Festival. Departure from Milton Keynes Following
1620-550: A total of 3,000 – 4,500 children. A central resource area served all the schools on a campus. In addition, each campus included a leisure centre with indoor and outdoor sports facilities and a swimming pool, plus a theatre. These facilities were available to the public outside school hours, thus maximising use of the investment. Changes in central government policy from the 1980s onwards subsequently led to much of this system being abandoned. Some schools have since been merged and sites sold for development, many converted to academies, and
1728-527: A unique insight into the history of a large sample of the landscape of North Buckinghamshire. The corporation's strongly modernist designs were regularly featured in the magazines Architectural Design and the Architects' Journal . MKDC was determined to learn from the mistakes made in the earlier new towns , and revisit the garden city ideals . They set in place the characteristic grid roads that run between districts ( 'grid squares' ), as well as
1836-419: A very strong north-south axis. If you've got to build a city between (them), it is very natural to take a pen and draw the rungs of a ladder. Ten miles by six is the size of this city – 22,000 acres. Do you lay it out like an American city, rigid orthogonal from side to side? Being more sensitive in 1966-7, the designers decided that the grid concept should apply but should be a lazy grid following
1944-414: A week whilst furthering their education – several of whom had gone on to sign professional deals with the first team. When faced with the challenge of finding a new home outside of Milton Keynes, Macaulay shortlisted two new locations: First was Cardiff, with Macaulay stating the appeal of every game feeling like Wales versus England being an exciting prospect. However, he ultimately found that agreeing to
2052-584: A whole in the UK. The enigmatic Harvey Knuckles is considered one of the greatest players ever to play in Britain. Steve Hale was a fourth round draft pick, Sam Smith scored big points from all round the court and Daryl Thomas was a prolific scorer. For the 1989–1990 season the franchise opted to leave the top-tier (now known as the Carlsberg League due to sponsorship from the Carlsberg Group ) and return to
2160-424: A working relationship was unlikely to work, so withdrew his proposal. The Mersey Tigers folded the following season. Completely out of options during the summer of 2012, Macaulay noted a lot of talk about the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games and investigated whether there would be any venues that could potentially become home for a basketball team once the games were over. Ultimately he entered discussions with
2268-545: A year away, along with Derek Hall and Rashad Hassan. A 9–1 start to the season in all competitions suggested great promise, but the departure of Hall after only 3 games and a season-ending injury to Jamal Williams disrupted the team's form. Defeat to Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Cup followed shortly afterwards. Reinforcements arrived in the shape of Navid Niktash and Zak Wells but the early season form couldn't be recaptured. 2017–18 season After Lloyd stepped down as head coach at
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#17328585550562376-429: Is composed of about 90% service industries and 9% manufacturing. It may startle some political economists to talk of commencing the building of new cities ... planned as cities from their first foundation, and not mere small towns and villages. ... A time will arrive when something of this sort must be done ... England cannot escape from the alternative of new city building. In the 1960s, the UK government decided that
2484-521: Is headed by Lions' player Mike New . With Macaulay back controlling the club on court as well as off it, the team's standing in the league was immediately matched to his own ambition as the club's owner. The veteran team performed sensationally and by the Christmas break they were well in contention for the league crown, resting in second place behind title-rivals Newcastle Eagles , who coincidentally they beat in their first-ever BBL Cup Final appearance at
2592-478: Is more commonly known as the city. Labour Minister Dick Crossman …looked at [a] map and saw [the] name and said " Milton the poet , Keynes the economic one . 'Planning with economic sense and idealism, a very good name for it.'" Jock Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan The name 'Milton Keynes' was a reuse of the name of one of the original historic villages in the designated area, now more generally known as ' Milton Keynes Village ' to distinguish it from
2700-541: Is more efficient at dealing with small to medium volumes. Some major roads are dual carriageway , the others are single carriageway . Along one side of each single carriageway grid road, there is usually a (grassed) reservation to permit dualling or additional transport infrastructure at a later date. As of 2018 , this has been limited to some dualling. The edges of each grid square are landscaped and densely planted – some additionally have noise attenuation mounds – to minimise traffic noise from
2808-417: Is only a small medieval chapel and a manor house occupying the site. New Bradwell , to the north of Bradwell and east of Wolverton, was built specifically for railway workers. The level bed of the old Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line near here has been converted to a redway, making it a favoured route for cycling. A working windmill is sited on a hill outside the village. Great Linford appears in
2916-417: Is so called because it is generally surfaced with red tarmac. The national Sustrans national cycle network routes 6 and 51 take advantage of this system. The original design guidance declared that commercial building heights in the centre should not exceed six storeys, with a limit of three storeys for houses (elsewhere), paraphrased locally as "no building taller than the tallest tree". In contrast,
3024-642: The 2012 Summer Paralympics , the venue needed to be converted for basketball use, and the Lions, therefore, began the season playing home games at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre . Owner Vince Macaulay-Razaq revealed the Lions would maintain links in Milton Keynes by keeping the Milton Keynes College Lions Basketball Academy open. 2012–13 season Following the Lions' move to London, head coach Mike New elected to remain in Milton Keynes and continue his work as head coach of
3132-522: The Domesday Book as Linforde , and features a church dedicated to Saint Andrew , dating from 1215. Today, the outer buildings of the 17th century manor house form an arts centre . Milton Keynes (Village) is the original village to which the New Town owes its name. The original village is still evident, with a pleasant thatched pub , village hall , church and traditional housing. The area around
3240-525: The Great Ouse and of its tributaries (the Ouzel and some brooks) have been protected as linear parks that run right through Milton Keynes; these were identified as important landscape and flood-management assets from the outset. At 4,100 acres (1,650 ha) – ten times larger than London's Hyde Park and a third larger than Richmond Park – the landscape architects realised that
3348-613: The Local Government Act 1972 , Milton Keynes Borough (now City) Council). From 2004 to 2011 a government quango , the Milton Keynes Partnership , had development control powers to accelerate the growth of Milton Keynes. Along with many other towns and boroughs, Milton Keynes competed (unsuccessfully) for formal city status in the 2000, 2002 and 2012 competitions. However the Borough (including rural areas, in addition to
London Lions (basketball) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-515: The Milton Keynes College Lions Basketball Academy . Lions owner Vince Macaulay coached the team for the 2012–13 season. London Lions played its home games at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre until the Copper Box Arena had been converted for basketball use following its role as handball arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games. 2013–14 season London Lions was successfully launched as
3564-462: The Milton Keynes Partnership , in its expansion plans for Milton Keynes , believed that Central Milton Keynes (and elsewhere) needed "landmark buildings" and subsequently lifted the height restriction for the area. As a result, high rise buildings have been built in the central business district. More recent local plans have protected the existing boulevard framework and set higher standards for architectural excellence. The flood plains of
3672-588: The Milton Keynes urban area (one inter-city). The Open University is based here and there is a small campus of the University of Bedfordshire . Most major sports are represented at amateur level; Red Bull Racing (Formula One), MK Dons (association football), and Milton Keynes Lightning (ice hockey) are its professional teams. The Peace Pagoda overlooking Willen Lake was the first such to be built in Europe. The many works of sculpture in parks and public spaces include
3780-505: The National Indoor Arena (NIA), on 13 January 2008. Milton Keynes led for most of the game and sealed the 69–66 victory when New scored the final points of the game to end a Newcastle resurgence, handing the Lions franchise its first piece of silverware. After finishing 4th in the league (19–14), Lions qualified for the post-season Play-offs with a seeded home-court Quarter-final tie against Scottish Rocks . The home team eased past
3888-560: The Norman conquest ; detailed archaeological investigations before development revealed evidence of human occupation from the Neolithic period, including the Milton Keynes Hoard of Bronze Age gold jewellery. The government established Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) to design and deliver this new city. The Corporation decided on a softer, more human-scaled landscape than in
3996-552: The Royal Parks model would not be appropriate or affordable and drew on their National Park experience. As Bendixson and Platt (1992) write: "They divided the Ouzel Valley into 'strings, beads and settings'. The 'strings' are well-maintained routes, be they for walking, bicycling or riding; the 'beads' are sports centres, lakeside cafes and other activity areas; the 'settings' are self-managed land-uses such as woods, riding paddocks,
4104-603: The SkyDome Arena in the BBL Trophy . The Lions fought valiantly but eventually lost to the all-conquering Chester Jets , losing 90–89 in a close contest. From then on, the Lions remained a competitive force in the league, often qualifying for the post-season Play-offs (though having little impact on the outcome), and an appearance in the BBL Cup Semi-final in 2005 was considered to be a major landmark. 2007–08 season It
4212-440: The south east of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. Milton Keynes was to be the biggest yet, with a population of 250,000 and area of 22,000 acres (9,000 ha). At designation, its area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley , Fenny Stratford , Wolverton and Stony Stratford , along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between. These settlements had an extensive historical record since
4320-483: The 2020–21 season, the Lions played in a European competition for the first time in club history. They were confirmed to have a spot in the qualifying rounds for the fifth season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL). however they failed to qualify for the tournament proper, losing 77–73 to Neptūnas in the single game qualifying tie. London Lions were acquired by 777 Partners , after they purchased
4428-487: The 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; 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). In the 1960s, the government decided that a further generation of new towns in
London Lions (basketball) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-492: The 2022–23 season, some European home games were played at Wembley Arena . BBL Championship BBL Play-offs BBL Cup BBL Trophy Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA -sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed. Stratford, London Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
4644-567: The BBL Cup Final. They were beaten in the BBL Trophy Final by London City Royals, before winning the BBL league championship. Justin Robinson won his second BBL MVP award in a row. 2019–20 season Lions changed their colours from their traditional purple and gold to black, silver and white. The season was curtailed prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic , with no champions being named. In
4752-507: The Championship table – one place and four points behind 8th-placed Guildford Heat for the last post-season berth. A heavy 102–67 defeat to Leicester saw elimination at the first hurdle in the BBL Cup, however the team would later go close to making the BBL Trophy final. After topping their group in round robin play, Lions won the home leg of their semi-final against Plymouth Raiders in front of
4860-705: The Corporation attracted talented young architects, led by the respected designer, Derek Walker. In the modernist Miesian tradition is the Shopping Building designed by Stuart Mosscrop and Christopher Woodward, a grade II listed building , which the Twentieth Century Society inter alia regards as the 'most distinguished' twentieth century retail building in Britain. The Development Corporation also led an ambitious public art programme. The urban design has not been universally praised. In 1980,
4968-689: The Development Corporation was being wound up , it transferred the major parks, lakes, river-banks and grid-road margins to the Parks Trust , a charity which is independent of the municipal authority. MKDC endowed the Parks Trust with a portfolio of commercial properties, the income from which pays for the upkeep of the green spaces. As of 2018 , approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland. It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest , Howe Park Wood and Oxley Mead . As
5076-529: The Grand Union Canal, is described in the Pevsner Architectural Guides as " ...the largest and most imaginative park to have been laid out in Britain in the 20th century". The park is listed (grade 2) by Historic England , Milton Keynes consists of many pre-existing towns and villages that anchored the urban design, as well as new infill developments. The modern-day urban area outside
5184-524: The Green . These historical settlements were made the focal points of their respective grid square. Every other district has an historical antecedent, if only in original farms or even field names. Bletchley was first recorded in the 12th century as Blechelai . Its station was an important junction (the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Line ), leading to
5292-608: The High Street is reputedly the last place the Princes in the Tower were seen alive. The manor house of Walton village, Walton Hall , is the headquarters of the Open University and the tiny parish church (deconsecrated) is in its grounds. The small parish church (1680) at Willen was designed by the architect and physicist Robert Hooke . Nearby, there is a Buddhist Temple and
5400-495: The Lions arrived in 1998. It was not then known what effect the team's departure would have on the many school teams and community projects, but Macaulay stated that he wished to remain involved in the development of youth basketball in Milton Keynes in some form. Questions also remained as to the future of the Milton Keynes Lions College Academy which enabled young adults to attend basketball practice five days
5508-472: The Lions play in one of the BBL's biggest, modern venues, rivalling the homes of the Rocks and Newcastle. Unfortunately, the completion of the arena was delayed due to the deferral of proposed commercial developments around the site (which would have funded the project). With the demolition of Lions' current home, Bletchley Centre, scheduled for November 2009, the lack of an alternative venue raised question marks as to
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#17328585550565616-546: The Lions were forced yet again to search for another new home venue, for at least the 2010–2011 season. The club secured a three-game lease for an out-of-town venue at Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury to begin their 2010–2011 campaign, and decided upon renovating a site in the centre of Milton Keynes to host home games for the duration of the season. A three-year deal was agreed upon to use a warehouse in Winterhill and convert it into
5724-532: The Lions would be playing out of Middleton Hall at thecentre:mk as a temporary measure until the new arena:mk was due to be completed, later in the year. The Lions played their last game in front of a packed Bletchley Centre crowd on 18 December, with a dramatic 98–97 victory over Guildford Heat. Robert Youngblood scored the winning point from the free-throw line and thus scored the last basket for Lions at their former home. After Middleton Hall decided upon changes that would no longer make it suitable for basketball,
5832-549: The MK urban area ) was successful in 2022, in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition. On 15 August 2022, the Crown Office announced formally that Queen Elizabeth II had ordained by letters patent that the Borough of Milton Keynes has been given city status. In law, it is the Borough rather than its eponymous settlement that has city status; nevertheless it is the latter that
5940-538: The Rocks, 105–93, with the game filmed live in front of Setanta Sports cameras. For the first time in its history, Milton Keynes progressed to the Championship Finals weekend at the NIA where they defeated league champions Newcastle Eagles (63–72) on the way to the final eventually succumbing to Guildford Heat , 88–100, again live on Setanta Sports. The incredible achievements of the season, earned coach Macaulay-Razaq
6048-533: The accolade of BBL's Coach of the Year. Another highlight of the Lions' most successful season in history was the development of players through the new academy with 18-year-old Greg Harvey progressing onto the roster in the latter stages of the season. 2008–09 season As of 2008, Lions expected to be playing at the brand-new 4,500-seat capacity arena:mk adjacent to the new stadium:mk (home to Milton Keynes Dons football team). The move to their new home would have seen
6156-419: The beginning of the 17–18 season, Mariusz Karol was appointed as head coach and lead the team to a 9–3 start before losing 4 out of the next 6. This led to a mutual agreement with team management for him to step down as head coach and club director / owner Vince Macaulay-Razaq to become head coach. 2018–19 season The team won its first silverware since rebranding as London Lions, beating Glasgow Rocks in
6264-576: The boundary of Milton Keynes was defined in 1967, some 40,000 people lived in four towns and fifteen villages or hamlets in the "designated area". The radical plan, form and scale of Milton Keynes attracted international attention. Early phases of development include work by celebrated architects, including Sir Richard MacCormac , Norman Foster , Henning Larsen , Ralph Erskine , John Winter , and Martin Richardson. Led by Lord Campbell of Eskan (chairman) and Fred Roche (General Manager),
6372-471: The city's green spaces are largely independent of the council's expenditure priorities. The Development Corporation's original design concept aimed for a "forest city" and its foresters planted millions of trees from its own nursery in Newlands in the following years. Parks, lakes and green spaces cover about 25% of Milton Keynes; as of 2018 , there are 22 million trees and shrubs in public open spaces. When
6480-514: The club from Macaulay, ending his 27-year ownership. 777 Partners also purchased 45% of the British Basketball League (BBL) for £7m in December 2021. The balance of BBL is owned by the 10 clubs that compete in the BBL, including London, therefore, effectively 777 controls the BBL. In the 2021–22 season, the Lions made their debut in the FIBA Europe Cup , which meant their debut in the group phase of
6588-592: The club received a major sponsorship deal from beverage brand Ovaltine , and as part of the deal were known as Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead. The franchise became a formidable force in Division 1, regularly finishing at the top-end of the table and making many appearances in the Play-off semi-finals at Wembley Arena , finishing third in 1981. Following the end of the Ovaltine sponsorship and a one-year deal with retailers Poundstretcher,
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#17328585550566696-426: The conclusion of the 2011–12 season, the owners of Prestige Homes Arena triggered an opt-out clause in the lease to let the building as a retail outlet. A planning application to change the building from a sporting facility to retail unit was approved by Milton Keynes Council, thus leaving the club without a home venue for the third time in as many seasons. Owner Vince Macaulay searched during the summer of 2012 to secure
6804-439: The dawning of a new era for the club. During this exciting time and in preparation for a planned move to a new arena, the club also undertook a rebranding initiative, redesigning the logo and changing the kit colours from the traditional purple and gold, to a more dynamic black, gold and white, as well as the establishment of a new academy in partnership with Milton Keynes College . The Milton Keynes College Lions Basketball Academy
6912-528: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 386411790 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:35:55 GMT Milton Keynes 52°02′N 0°46′W / 52.04°N 0.76°W / 52.04; -0.76 Milton Keynes ( / k iː n z / KEENZ ) is a city in Buckinghamshire , England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London . At
7020-430: The earlier English new towns but with an emphatically modernist architecture . Recognising how traditional towns and cities had become choked in traffic, they established a grid of distributor roads about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) between edges, leaving the spaces between to develop more organically. An extensive network of shared paths for leisure cyclists and pedestrians criss-crosses through and between them. Rejecting
7128-508: The end of the 2023–24 season, the club was rescued for the 2024–25 season under the ownership of Tesonet, minority shareholders of BC Žalgiris . The club initially started out based in the town of Hemel Hempstead , 24 miles northwest of London , and were known as the Hemel Hempstead Lakers . The team was named after one of the National Basketball Association 's (NBA) most famous teams, Los Angeles Lakers , and even adopted
7236-409: The flow of land, its valleys, its ebbs and flows. That would be nicer to look at, more economical and efficient to build, and would sit more beautifully as a landscape intervention. David Lock The Milton Keynes Development Corporation planned the major road layout according to street hierarchy principles, using a grid pattern of approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) intervals, rather than on
7344-565: The franchise was rebranded as the Hemel Royals in 1985. Meanwhile, on court, the team failed to reproduce the performances of the past few seasons and often settled for mid-table positions. This was a golden period in British Basketball and Hemel regularly brought top American talent from the States. Dick Miller is the greatest defensive player in the franchise's history and probably the game as
7452-581: The future of the franchise remaining in Milton Keynes. On court, there were big expectations following the successful campaign previously, but the 2008–09 season didn't start off too well for the Lions, with defeat to Guildford in the Cup Winners' Cup . After losing 91–89 in the first leg at Guildford, the Heat rolled over the Lions to a 68–60 victory at the Bletchley Centre, and a 159–149 series win. Further woe
7560-505: The grid road impacting the adjacent grid square. Traffic movements are fast, with relatively little congestion since there are alternative routes to any particular destination other than during peak periods. The national speed limit applies on the grid roads, although lower speed limits have been introduced on some stretches to reduce accident rates. Pedestrians rarely need to cross grid roads at grade , as underpasses and bridges were specified at frequent places along each stretch of all of
7668-411: The grid roads was evolved under the leadership of Neil Higson, who from 1977 took over from Youngman. In a national comparison of urban areas by open space available to residents, Milton Keynes ranked highest in the UK. Milton Keynes is unusual in that most of the parks are owned and managed by a charity, the Milton Keynes Parks Trust rather than the local authority, to ensure that the management of
7776-415: The grid roads. In contrast, the later districts planned by English Partnerships have departed from this model, without a road hierarchy but with conventional junctions with traffic lights and at grade pedestrian crossings. There is a separate network (approximately 170 miles (270 km) total length) of cycle and pedestrian routes – the redways – that runs through
7884-453: The grid-squares and often runs alongside the grid-road network. This was designed to segregate slow moving cycle and pedestrian traffic from fast moving motor traffic. In practice, it is mainly used for leisure cycling rather than commuting, perhaps because the cycle routes are shared with pedestrians, cross the grid-roads via bridge or underpass rather than at grade, and because some take meandering scenic routes rather than straight lines. It
7992-482: The iconic Concrete Cows at Milton Keynes Museum . Milton Keynes is among the most economically productive localities in the UK, ranking highly against a number of criteria. It has the UK's fifth-highest number of business startups per capita (but equally of business failures). It is home to several major national and international companies. Despite economic success and personal wealth for some, there are pockets of nationally significant poverty. The employment profile
8100-509: The intention that it would be self-sustaining and eventually become a major regional centre in its own right. Planning control was taken from elected local authorities and delegated to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC). Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: doing so has exposed a rich history of human settlement since Neolithic times and has provided
8208-525: The landscape of south-central England. There is evidence of Stone Age , late Bronze Age /early Iron Age , Romano-British , Anglo-Saxon , Anglo-Norman , Medieval , and late Industrial Revolution settlements such as the railway towns of Wolverton (with its railway works ) and Bletchley (at the junction of the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford–Cambridge Varsity Line ). The most notable archaeological artefact
8316-468: The last of the British New Towns, Milton Keynes has 'stood the test of time far better than most, and has proved flexible and adaptable'. The radical grid plan was inspired by the work of Melvin M. Webber , described by the founding architect of Milton Keynes, Derek Walker , as the 'father of the city'. Webber thought that telecommunications meant that the old idea of a city as a concentric cluster
8424-459: The leisure centres outsourced to commercial providers. As in most parts of the UK, the state secondary schools in Milton Keynes are comprehensives , although schools in the rest of Buckinghamshire still use the tripartite system . Private schools are also available. The Open University 's headquarters are in the Walton Hall district; though because this is a distance learning institution,
8532-648: The modern settlement. After the Norman conquest, the de Cahaignes family held the manor from 1166 to the late 13th century as well as others in the country ( Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire, Somerford Keynes in Gloucestershire, and Horsted Keynes in West Sussex). The village was originally known as Middeltone (11th century); then later as Middelton Kaynes or Caynes (13th century); Milton Keynes (15th century); and Milton alias Middelton Gaynes (17th century). The area that
8640-465: The more conventional radial pattern found in older settlements. Major distributor roads run between communities, rather than through them: these distributor roads are known locally as grid roads and the spaces between them – the neighbourhoods – are known as grid squares (though few are actually square or even rectilinear ). This spacing was chosen so that people would always be within six minutes' walking distance of
8748-750: The new owners of the Copper Box Arena, and the Milton Keynes Lions, soon to be the London Lions, had a new home. On 8 August 2012, an article in the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper revealed the Lions would be moving to London for the 2012–13 season , taking residence at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park . As the Copper Box was being used for handball during the 2012 Summer Olympics and goalball during
8856-408: The next decade the team wouldn't finish outside of the bottom three, but with the removal of the promotion/relegation system between the BBL and Division 1, this had little consequence. The lack of fortune and an aging venue prompted the franchise to look at relocating and the team found a suitable, yet temporary solution in the neighbouring town of Watford . In preparation for the move, the franchise
8964-417: The only professional basketball club in London. The team finished 6th in the regular season before losing to Worcester Wolves in the playoffs quarter-finals. 2014–15 season The two previous seasons' BBL MVPs, Drew Sullivan and Zaire Taylor, were recruited for the 2014–15 season. The Lions reached the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy, losing to Leicester Riders . They finished 6th in the regular season. In
9072-473: The only students resident on campus are approximately 200 full-time postgraduates. Cranfield University , an all-postgraduate institution, is in nearby Cranfield , Bedfordshire. Milton Keynes College provides further education up to foundation degree level. A campus of the University of Bedfordshire provides some tertiary education facilities locally. As of 2023 , Milton Keynes is the UK's largest population centre without its own conventional university,
9180-534: The original six towns (Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Woburn Sands ) was largely rural farmland but included many picturesque North Buckinghamshire villages and hamlets: Bradwell village and its Abbey , Broughton , Caldecotte , Great Linford , Loughton , Milton Keynes Village , New Bradwell , Shenley Brook End , Shenley Church End , Simpson , Stantonbury , Tattenhoe , Tongwell , Walton , Water Eaton , Wavendon , Willen , Great and Little Woolstone , Woughton on
9288-582: The play-off final, was made captain. Olumide Oyedeji would later rejoin in October following a serious injury to Demond Watt. Alex Owumi signed in December following further roster changes. The season ended with defeat to Sheffield Sharks in the play-off quarter-finals, on their way to winning the trophy. 2016–17 season A more stable summer saw Nigel Lloyd remain in charge, bringing back Alex Owumi, Andre Lockhart, Jamal Williams, Joseph "Jei" Blessing Ikhinmwin and Kai Williams. Zaire Taylor also returned after
9396-423: The playoffs, the Lions defeated Worcester Wolves in the quarter-finals and Cheshire Phoenix in the semi-finals. The final, played in front of 14,700 at The O2 Arena , was won by Newcastle Eagles, who completed the clean sweep of British basketball titles. 2015–16 season Nigel Lloyd took over as head coach for the 2015–16 season. Joe Ikhinmwin, the only senior player retained from the previous season's run to
9504-511: The re-formed Manchester Giants on 21 September. On 30 July, with the country's interest in basketball heightened by Great Britain's participation in the London 2012 Olympic basketball tournament, Macaulay revealed his search to find a home venue had been unsuccessful and the club would be forced to leave Milton Keynes. In addition to the loss of professional basketball games, the move was a big blow to Milton Keynes residents who had enjoyed extensive community and schools' basketball programmes since
9612-436: The residential tower block concept that had become unpopular , they set a height limit of three storeys outside Central Milton Keynes . Facilities include a 1,400-seat theatre, a municipal art gallery, two multiplex cinemas, an ecumenical central church, a 400-seat concert hall, a teaching hospital, a 30,500-seat football stadium, an indoor ski-slope and a 65,000-capacity open-air concert venue. Seven railway stations serve
9720-475: The second-tier league, which had been renamed as NBL Division 1. After only one season, and a fourth-place finish (14–8), the Royals returned to Carlsberg League. The team finished bottom of the league in the 1992–1993 season with a 4–29 record, and were subsequently relegated back to Division 1, however they were later reinstated and returned to the rebranded BBL for the following season. A dismal spell ensued and over
9828-469: The strategic and financial case to relocate [from] the OU's existing campus at Walton Hall to a new site adjacent to the central railway station" and possibly commence teaching full-time undergraduates. Through Milton Keynes University Hospital , the city also has links with the University of Buckingham 's medical school. Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre at Bradwell Abbey holds an extensive archive about
9936-558: The substantial urban growth in the town in the Victorian period. It expanded to absorb the village of Water Eaton and town of Fenny Stratford . Bradwell is a traditional rural village with earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey and parish church. There is a YHA hostel beside the church. Bradwell Abbey , a former Benedictine Priory and scheduled monument , was of major economic importance in this area of North Buckinghamshire before its dissolution in 1524. Nowadays there
10044-543: The team packed up, moved and renamed themselves as the Milton Keynes Lions . Lions' on-court performances were an instant improvement and the franchise began a slow but noticeable turnaround, reaching the semi-finals of the National Cup and also the end-of-season Play-offs for the first time in eight seasons in 2000. After a hugely successful run, the franchise reached its first major final in 2002 with an appearance at
10152-426: The teams throughout the Lions banner to train more than ever before, the club missed out on qualifying for the play-offs. One of the few highlights of the season was the play of American guard Demarius Bolds, who was among the league leaders in several statistics as he was named Lions' Player of the Year. 2011–12 season 2011–12 saw the Lions miss the play-offs for a second successive season, as they finished 9th in
10260-543: The their colours of purple and gold. In 1977, the Lakers entered the National Basketball League 's Division 2, and enjoyed a rather successful first season, finishing fifth (from 11 teams) with a 10–10 record. Their second season would be even more successful, with the Lakers finishing second in Division 2 (15–3) and winning promotion to the top-level league Division 1. With entry into the country's top league ensured,
10368-553: The then president of the Royal Town Planning Institute , Francis Tibbalds, described Central Milton Keynes as "bland, rigid, sterile, and totally boring." Michael Edwards, a member of the original consultancy team, believes that there were weaknesses in their proposal and that the Development Corporation implemented it badly. The geography of Milton Keynes – the railway line , Watling Street , Grand Union Canal , M1 motorway – sets up
10476-527: The village has reverted to its 11th century name of Middleton (Middeltone ). The oldest surviving domestic building in the area (c. 1300 CE), "perhaps the manor house", is here. Stony Stratford began as a settlement on Watling Street during the Roman occupation , beside the ford over the Great Ouse. There has been a market here since 1194 (by charter of King Richard I ). The former Rose and Crown Inn on
10584-515: Was a 19th-century New Town built to house the workers at the Wolverton railway works , which built engines and carriages for the London and North Western Railway . Among the smaller villages and hamlets are three – Broughton , Loughton and Woughton on the Green – that are of note in that their names each use a different pronunciation of the ough letter sequence in English. In early planning, education provision
10692-582: Was added with a BBL Cup Quarter-final exit at the hands of visiting Everton Tigers , coupled with an exit at the 1st round of the Trophy. The disastrous season came to an abrupt end in April, with a 14–19 record and 9th-placed finish meaning the Lions missing out on the end-of-season Playoffs. 2009–10 season With the demolition of the Bletchley Centre looming, the club sought to find an alternative venue for home games and on 31 July 2009 announced that from January 2010,
10800-400: Was announced on 8 May 2007 that coach Tom Hancock would not coach the Lions for the 2007–08 season , after just one term at the helm. On 17 May, the club declared owner Vince Macaulay-Razaq , a former player and coach of the franchise, would be appointed head coach for the proceeding season. The signing of Yorick Williams during the pre-season was a massive coup, and for many fans signalled
10908-447: Was carefully integrated into the development plans with the intention that school journeys would, as far as possible, be made by walking and cycling. Each residential grid square was provided with a primary school (ages 5 to 8) for c.240 children, and for each two squares there was a middle school (ages 8 to 12) for c.480 children. For each eight squares there was a large secondary education campus, to contain between two and four schools for
11016-665: Was confirmed that Lions would be omitted from the 2024-25 EuroCup season due to the club's uncertain financial stability, while later it was revealed that the club was at risk of bankruptcy. In August 2024, it was announced that Lithuanian tech company Tesonet, shareholder of BC Žalgiris as well, acquired the club from 777 Partners. The Žalgiris Group would provide a three-month loan to cover "essential costs". Note: Between 1998 and 2002, some home games were played at Planet Ice Milton Keynes for TV broadcasting purposes. Between 2017 and 2020, some home games were played at University of East London SportsDock and Brixton Recreation Centre. In
11124-409: Was in Milton Keynes that the team won its first silverware in 2008, the BBL Cup. The Lions relocated to London in 2012 and play its home games at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , as well as occasional EuroCup matches at Wembley Arena . The Lions were purchased by 777 Partners in 2020, ending Macaulay's 27-year tenure of ownership. After the threat of bankruptcy following
11232-491: Was out of date and that cities which enabled people to travel around them readily would be the thing of the future, achieving "community without propinquity " for residents. The government wound up MKDC in 1992, 25 years after the new town was founded, transferring control to the Commission for New Towns (CNT) and then finally to English Partnerships , with the planning function returning to local council control (since 1974 and
11340-526: Was rebranded as Hemel & Watford Royals in 1996 and they made the move from the Dacorum Centre to Watford Leisure Centre in 1997. The move had little effect on the team's playing performance and they finished 13th out of 13 in the 1997–1998 season (3–33). Royals' stay in Watford lasted just one season and, in 1998, with the promise of a future purpose-built arena being offered in the town of Milton Keynes ,
11448-531: Was the Milton Keynes Hoard , which the British Museum described as 'one of the biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Britain and seems to flaunt wealth.' Bletchley Park , the site of World War II Allied code-breaking and Colossus , the world's first programmable electronic digital computer , is a major component of MK's modern history. It is now a flourishing heritage attraction, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. When
11556-480: Was to be the biggest yet, with a target population of 250,000, in a ' designated area ' of 21,883 acres (8,855.7 ha). The name 'Milton Keynes' was taken from that of an existing village on the site. On 23 January 1967, when the formal "new town designation order" was made, the area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages. The site was deliberately located equidistant from London, Birmingham , Leicester , Oxford , and Cambridge , with
11664-452: Was to become Milton Keynes encompassed a landscape that has a rich historic legacy. The area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages, but with evidence of permanent settlement dating back to the Bronze Age . Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: this work has provided an insight into the history of a very large sample of
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