Family petitions basketball team to stay

A Summerside family has launched an online petition to keep the Summerside Storm basketball team from moving.

The Trenholm family has been to many games over the last year, even coming for half games on school nights.

They're worried if negotiations between the team's management and Summerside fall through, their favourite team will head to Charlottetown.

"I figured, well I'm going to start a petition for the fans, just to show that they want the Storm to stay in Summerside," Ken Trenholm told CBC News.

While negotiations continue, P.E.I.'s only professional basketball team has been in contact with the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The Storm have had a difficult time over the last season in terms of wins but they gained many fans in the community with attendance averaging 2800 people per game -- the third highest in the National Basketball League of Canada.

Team Owner Duncan Shaw couldn't be reached, but told CBC News in a previous interview, Summerside was a fantastic home for the team but he can't say yet where the team will be next year.

Meanwhile, Ken Trenholm will continue his fight.

"There's not a lot of things we can do as a family today, so what better opportunity than, say, on a Friday or Thursday night, on a Sunday afternoon we can get together, sit down and enjoy and scream and cheer and say 'Yes! We were here!'" Trenholm said. 

"If they win or if they lose we're still going to show up next game."

To date, the Trenholm's have collected more than 600 names for their petition.

They say they'll give copies to the Storm and to the city of Summerside in the hopes this show of fan support will help the two sides reach a deal to keep the team in Summerside.