Basketball-Euroleague to vote on expansion offers on Tuesday as NBA Europe talks loom

FILE PHOTO: Basketball - Euroleague Third Place Play Off - Olimpia Milano v CSKA Moscow - Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany - May 30, 2021 General view of the match ball REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo

MADRID, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Euroleague shareholder ⁠clubs are unlikely to embrace radical change when they meet this week to consider a 10-year strategic plan, ⁠experts said on Monday, in a pivotal week for the sport across the continent with the NBA ‌looking to move in.

Representatives from the 13 permanent Euroleague teams were due in Lake Como on Monday night with a vote on Tuesday on a fundamental ownership shift that would transform those shareholders into franchises and expand the competition from 20 teams to 24.

The Euroleague will also evaluate the 14 ​bids they have received for additional long-term franchise spots, with a maximum ⁠of eight to be awarded by ballot.

The proposals ⁠from the Euroleague are aimed at sustainability and accelerating long-term growth but sceptics remain.

"I don't think it really changes what ⁠it's ‌on the table today for the 13 shareholders," Lega Basket Serie A President Maurizio Gherardini told Reuters.

The strategic plan aims for an aggregate value of the competition and its clubs of €4.3 billion ($4,82 billion) by 2027 and said in ⁠a statement on August 25 that projected year-on-year revenue growth had risen ​to 15% as a result of ‌fresh commercial deals.

Despite the positive projections, Real Madrid budgets show net losses in the basketball division each year ⁠since the 2021-22 season. ​Counterparts Barcelona have posted overall net losses for the past three years, and economist IvanCabeza told Reuters that the wider Euroleague model was not sustainable.

"I find it very hard to see how a business like theEuroleaguewhich has been, is, and very likely will continue to be ⁠a money-losing venture, could undergo a radical change," Cabeza said.

This could ​make the NBA Europe project appealing to clubs primarily focused on football, with the North American league widely expected to launch in 2027 - with or without Euroleague's cooperation.

The Athletic reported last week that NBA Europe managing director George Aivazoglou and NBA deputy commissioner ⁠Mark Tatum held discussions with Paris St Germain, AC Milan and the Spanish duo about becoming member franchises.

Media reports said the NBA have submitted a proposal to the Euroleague, which last Friday confirmed to Reuters that talks were ongoing between the two.

"If someone came along and said, 'Look, I’ll give you €800 million ($896,88 million) to take over the franchise so you never lose money ​again', that’s obviously an attractive proposition," said Cabeza, posing a hypothetical for Barcelona and ⁠Real Madrid.

"It’s appealing because it solves part of your overall debt problem, stops the financial bleeding, and allows you to keep ​the brand name associated with a partner."

Aivazoglou is poised to give an update ‌on their 16-team competition on Thursday in London. Both the ​NBA and the Euroleague have confirmed they will forge ahead with their own plans for the 2027-28 season if no agreement is found.

(Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow, additional reporting by Amy TenneryEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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资料照片：篮球 - 欧洲篮球联赛季军争夺战 - 米兰奥林匹亚对阵莫斯科中央陆军 - 德国科隆朗盛体育馆 - 2021年5月30日 比赛用球概览 路透社/蒂洛·施穆尔根/资料照片

马德里，10 月 5 日（路透社）——专家周一表示，欧洲篮球联赛的股东俱乐部不太可能在本周开会审议一项为期 10 年的战略计划时接受激进的变革。本周对于整个欧洲大陆的这项运动来说至关重要，因为 NBA 正寻求进军欧洲篮球。

来自 13 支欧洲篮球联赛常驻球队的代表将于周一晚上抵达科莫湖，并在周二就一项根本性的所有权变更进行投票，该变更将把这些股东转变为特许经营权，并将比赛从 20 支球队扩大到 24 支球队。

欧洲篮球联赛还将评估他们收到的 14 份关于额外长期特许经营权的申请，最多将通过投票方式授予 8 个名额。

欧洲篮球联赛提出的方案旨在实现可持续发展并加速长期增长，但仍有人对此持怀疑态度。

“我认为这并不会真正改变今天摆在13位股东面前的问题，”意大利篮球甲级联赛主席毛里齐奥·格拉尔迪尼告诉路透社。

该战略计划的目标是到 2027 年使该赛事及其俱乐部的总价值达到 43 亿欧元（48.2 亿美元），并在 8 月 25 日的一份声明中表示，由于新的商业交易，预计年收入增长率已上升至 15%。

尽管预测乐观，但自2021-22赛季以来，皇家马德里篮球项目的预算每年都出现净亏损。巴塞罗那也连续三年出现整体净亏损，经济学家伊万·卡贝萨告诉路透社，欧洲篮球联赛的整体模式不可持续。

卡韦萨说：“我很难想象像欧洲篮球联赛这样的企业，过去、现在、将来很可能都会继续亏损，能够发生根本性的改变。”

这可能会使 NBA 欧洲项目对主要专注于足球的俱乐部更具吸引力，北美联赛预计将于 2027 年推出——无论欧洲篮球联赛是否合作。

《The Athletic》上周报道称，NBA欧洲区总经理乔治·艾瓦佐格鲁和NBA副总裁马克·塔图姆与巴黎圣日耳曼、AC米兰和这对西班牙组合就成为成员球队进行了讨论。

媒体报道称，NBA已向欧洲篮球联赛提交了一份提案，欧洲篮球联赛上周五向路透社证实，双方正在进行谈判。

卡韦萨说：“如果有人来对你说，‘听着，我给你 8 亿欧元（8.9688 亿美元）来接管球队，这样你就不会再赔钱了’，这显然是一个很有吸引力的提议。”他以巴塞罗那和皇家马德里为例提出了一个假设。

“它的吸引力在于，它解决了你整体债务问题的一部分，止住了财务亏损，并让你保留了与合作伙伴相关的品牌名称。”

艾瓦佐格鲁将于周四在伦敦就其16支球队的比赛计划发布最新消息。NBA和欧洲篮球联赛均已确认，如果未能达成协议，他们将继续推进各自的2027-28赛季计划。

（Ruairidh Barlow报道，Amy Tennery补充报道，Christian Radnedge编辑）

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