By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Adam Silver met the media in Berlin before the game between Memphis and Orlando, and of course, the main issue of the talks was NBA Europe.
“We are meeting with clubs, media partners, and potential media sponsors, the arena infrastructure, and the next frontier is the launching of this league,” said Silver, who for the first time talked about the revenues of the new league.
As Silver explained, the project is not going to be profitable from day one, and the funding will come from the investors, or the clubs themselves: “The funding will come initially from the member clubs of the league, from their investors. If we were to successfully launch this new league, it would take a while before it is a viable commercial enterprise. Think about the WNBA. I am not suggesting there’s compatibility, even if we would like to do a women’s league in Europe in the future. What we are telling interesting parties is that you need to have a long-term perspective”.
Speaking about adapting the NBA model to Europe, Silver added: “It’s critically important that we respect the tradition of European basketball. Our partner is FIBA, and we are trying to find the best combination of old and new. And not only FIBA, but European organization who understand what makes European basketball unique”.
Asked about the letter sent by EuroLeague about possible legal action, Silver explained: “I sent the legal letters to my lawyers, and I don’t think it’s inevitable to have a clash. I think we have the opportunity to grow the game. We are not competing with other sports or basketball organizations; I’m focused on the competitive landscape with other entertainment options. We are a sports entertainment product. If I thought the ceiling was the current EuroLeague, we wouldn’t spend this kind of time and attention on this project. There’s room for everyone and for someone to be a fan of both his favorite football club and his favorite basketball team”.
Silver also confirmed talks with Real Madrid and ALBA Berlin: “I confirm we had discussions with Real Madrid and other Spanish clubs. It would be premature to talk about more specific conversations. I am familiar with ALBA Berlin. They are the model of the kind of club that is doing great work”.
He also revealed that Tony Parker, who is ASVEL’s owner, is consulting the NBA on the NBA Europe project.
The bottom line was simple: “If we build a league in Europe and we do it the right way, then in the end, as it happened with the NBA, the league will be followed all around the world”.