By Ruairidh Barlow, Amy Tennery and Frank Pingue
MADRID/NEW YORK/TORONTO Oct 2 (Reuters) – The clock is ticking for the NBA and Euroleague to find common ground in time for a joint launch next year, as the North American titan eyes an expansion across the Atlantic that could alter the ecosystem of European basketball.
Euroleague shareholders are due to meet on Monday in Italy to discuss a proposal that would see it join forces with the National Basketball Association, rather than compete against one another.
The upcoming discussions at Lake Como represent a fork in the road for the future of European basketball: Should a merger be agreed, it would represent a significant shift in governance, structure and the financing of Europe’s continental competition.
If no agreement is found, NBA Europe and the Euroleague are set to enter into a rivalry, with the latter intending to alter the existing format, expanding the competition in the process.
“This is a unique opportunity historically to bring all sides together – including FIBA – and reshape the European basketball ecosystem,” Lega Basket Serie A President Maurizio Gherardini told Reuters.
Euroleague is crafting its own expansion project while the NBA is barrelling forward with an expected 16-team league that would include 10-12 permanent franchises and four to six spots available through qualification.
The NBA has made clear it intends to launch in 2027 whether or not an agreement is reached, leaving Euroleague clubs to decide whether they are better served joining forces with the new competition or trying to withstand it.
A Euroleague spokesperson said conversations with the NBA were focused on a path forward that would see the two work together.
NBA READY TO MOVE FORWARD
A picture of what an NBA Europe would look like is beginning to emerge.
Teams would come from three pathways, including existing clubs, franchises launched by outside investors and clubs founded by existing European soccer teams.
“QSI has been approached … maybe two years ago,” Paris St Germain owner Qatar Sports Investments told Reuters. “We’ve been actively involved in discussions for at least a year.”
Real Madrid, AC Milan and Barcelona, which have also been named. as potential affiliate clubs for NBA Europe teams, did not respond to a request for comment.
The NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East, George Aivazoglou, is due to provide a public update on talks at a summit in London on Thursday.
“All bidders, including football clubs, are not rushing into it since the Euroleague’s position is not yet clear,” a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
‘INJECTION OF MONEY’
The NBA previously told Reuters it believes the sport is lagging behind its potential across the continent.
NBA Europe would also align domestic league and national team schedules, allowing players to represent club and country year-round and resolve scheduling conflicts that exist.
Euroleague enjoys robust attendance and fanbases but lacks permanent teams in some major markets, with criticism over stadium infrastructure a longstanding sticking point.
“They’re gonna bring an injection of money, of professionalism in the way they treat their players,” player-turned-agent Pete Mickeal told Reuters. Mickeal played several years in the EuroLeague and won the championship in 2010.
“Every single player that ever played in Europe has had a money issue. These are the things that I think, when the NBA comes in, that’s gonna change.”
Mickeal also pointed to the multi-billion-dollar league’s superior marketing and resources to bring teams to major-market cities.
“They have everything at their fingertips,” said Mickeal, who heads his Mickeal Sports Group agency. “Everything is right there for them to go get it.”
NBA Europe has identified potential locations for 12 anchor teams, targeting London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Madrid, Athens, Barcelona, Manchester, and Lyon, The Athletic said.
Were the Euroleague to execute their expansion plan, it would see the current 20-team competition gain four teams next season. A maximum of eight ‘long-term’ franchises would join the existing 13, the rest filled out by temporary members.
The Euroleague told Reuters that 14 bids had been received for those eight spots amounting to more than €800 million ($901.36 million) in franchise fees.
Under the NBA Europe proposal, not all of the 13 permanent Euroleague teams would be guaranteed a spot. The NBA says it will award franchises and set entry fees on a case-by-case basis, but media reports said they had received several bids in the $500 million to $1 billion range.
($1 = 0.8875 euros)
(Reporting by Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid, Lori Ewing in Manchester, Frank Pingue in Toronto, Julien Pretot in Paris, Amy Tennery in New York, Elvira Pollina in MilanEditing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
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