Andre Levingston
OWNER OF THE HALIFAX RAINMEN
Levingston has taken an interesting path to become the president
and majority owner of the Halifax Rainmen. He coached high school
basketball in his hometown, Detroit, where he worked as a
schoolteacher. Becoming an entrepreneur, he went into business for
himself, which led him to Toronto, where he owned a restaurant and a
car custom shop with Morris “Mo Pete” Peterson, who played for the
Toronto Raptors at the time. Levingston was asked to help bring a
basketball team to Mississauga, a deal that fell through, but the idea
germinated in his head and blossomed when, through professional
contacts, he heard that Halifax was primed to be a pro basketball town,
leading him here to form The Rainmen.
The Coast: You’ve had a second season of basketball in
Halifax, and in a new league (the Premier Basketball League). How did
it go?
Andre Levingston: It was fantastic. It is a great league. Our
attendance was up 60 percent this year. We’ve had some really great
companies come on board to support us now, even to the point of making
multiple year commitments with us, because of the stability of the
league.
We’re looking to do some wonderful things next year, to have some
games televised, have some games live on the internet. We’re looking to
continue to build on the momentum right now.
TC: Now that the season is done, how does your summer
look?
AL: We’re laying out our summer plans now, with some
basketball camps and some three-on-three tournaments. We’re going to do
some really good things this summer to stay visible and give back to
the community. Doing some free camps for kids who normally couldn’t
afford to go to camp.
TC: So, a few of your players are still here in Halifax over
the summer?
AL: Yes, Eric Crookshank, who is the face of our
organization, is doing some great things in the community, and Tyrone
McNeal, our big seven-foot kid, he’s still here as well.
TC: Now that you’ve been here a little while, how do you find
Halifax? It must be a big change culturally from Detroit, or even
Toronto.
AL: The quality of life here is second to none, that’s what
stands out to me the most. People really appreciate and spend time with
family. People take vacations and value their time off. In the big city
we’re so accustomed to hustling, everyone’s chasing the dollar. When I
landed in Halifax, for the first time in my life I really understood
how tired I was. I found myself home, resting, at seven o’clock. I’ve
never done that before.
I’ve met some really good people here. These are multi-millionaires.
You don’t get the opportunity in the States to sit down with Donald
Trump or successful people at that level. Here, I sit down with the
Mickey MacDonalds and the Rob Steeles and the David Dobbins. People are
humble. That’s really impressive, man. It really gives you a different
take on how people value friendship. It’s good to be around those guys
and women, that are just ordinary folks. I’m in awe of that. Me coming
from a place where you have to go through the chains or reach a certain
level of success and mingle with a certain kind of person. Halifax is
relationship driven, that’s really special.
TC: This summer, do you have any plans?
AL: I’ve never been to the Tall Ships. I’m looking
forward to visiting that. And there are a lot of concerts. I like Paul
McCartney, maybe I’ll take in that show. There are things I want to get
involved with for charity. I lost my mom to cancer and there is a
cancer walk.
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This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.
Mr. Levingston deserves tremendous credit for investing in Halifax, for bringing us a pro basketball franchise, for providing family-friendly entertainment that encourages kids to get active, and for injecting some much-needed energy into our city. Often it takes a come-from-away to help us see what our city could become. Our family are now Rainmen fans. Thank you, Andre!