Oxford Hoops, one of Oxfordshire’s leading community basketball clubs, is celebrating its 30th anniversary and outlining ambitious new plans to secure a permanent basketball facility in Oxford. The club aims to support the long-term growth of youth basketball, senior performance basketball and local community sport across the city.
Founded in 1995 with its first training session at Ferry Leisure Centre in Summertown, Oxford Hoops launched at a time when structured basketball training in Oxford simply didn’t exist. Today, the club has expanded into a thriving basketball community of more than 300 players, offering structured basketball training in Oxford across 11 squads. Coaches now deliver up to 50 hours of basketball sessions every week, including development pathways for juniors and performance programmes for adults.
Oxford Hoops currently trains and hosts games across four rented venues – Cheney School, Oxford Spires, Oxford Academy and Cherwell School – but the club’s rapid rise and increasing demand have pushed capacity to its limit. With rising costs, limited hall availability and an expanding membership base, the club is seeking a permanent basketball home in Oxford to safeguard its future and scale its community impact.
“We’ve grown beyond what rented facilities can support.”
Franky Marulanda, Director of Oxford Hoops, said the club’s 30-year journey highlights the transformative power of basketball in Oxfordshire.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of what we’ve built from those humble early days 30 years ago. Basketball is a powerful sport that helps people develop teamwork, discipline and confidence – skills that matter on and off the court. Seeing thousands of players thrive through our programmes has been a genuine privilege.”
But Franky acknowledges the club has reached a critical moment:
“Our ability to grow community basketball in Oxford has hit a ceiling. Rising facility costs mean we can’t reinvest revenue, and our club operations become harder every year. A permanent facility would allow us to run more teams, expand our school and community outreach, and strengthen the entire basketball pathway in Oxford.”
Major sporting milestone: promotion to NBL Division One
Earlier this year, Oxford Hoops achieved one of the biggest successes in its history — promotion to Division One of the National Basketball League. It marks the first time the club has reached this level, competing against top teams from Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Sheffield and Cardiff.
However, without its own venue, the club cannot generate income from ticketing, events or training space. As a result, first-team players must cover their own playing costs, a challenge Franky hopes to eliminate.
“It’s not right that players spend hundreds of pounds a year to represent Oxford at the highest level. In other cities, players are paid — here, we’re still asking them to contribute. It affects recruitment and limits our competitiveness.”
Basketball demand in Oxford continues to grow
Oxford Hoops’ membership reflects the multicultural nature of Oxfordshire, attracting players from countries where basketball is the number one sport, including China, North America, Eastern Europe and the Philippines.
“For many of our members, we’re the only route into regular, competitive basketball in Oxford. We want to expand into women’s basketball, wheelchair basketball and wider community programmes — but we need a permanent base to do that,” Franky added. “The potential is huge.”
