The coach of basketball team the Bristol Flyers has hailed a major investment from a US firm into the sport as a 鈥渄efining moment鈥 in the history of the game in the 海角视频.
The British Basketball League (BBL), the game鈥檚 top professional division in Britain, announced on Monday (December 20) that it had agreed a multi-million pound funding deal with Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners.
An initial tranche of 拢7m will go towards ambitious plans to transform the entirety of the sport, from the infrastructure of the elite level of the game down to community grassroot operations.
Among the measures announced as part of the plan are:
- The creation of a significantly enhance leadership team, including a new chief executive to drive the BBL鈥檚 vision and strategy forward;
- Creation of infrastructure to help support clubs with operational, content and marketing initiatives and attract further investment for improving stadia and training facilities;
- Four new 鈥渉igh quality鈥 franchises to be added to the league within the next five years;
- Major investment in "digital transformation" to more effectively deliver the league鈥檚 content to its digitally native audience;
- The adoption of new in-stadia technology to improve fan experience and the game as a broadcast product;
- Support for players in their basketball and wider career ambitions and additional investment in player onboarding and athlete welfare programmes;
- Investment in training of referees and officials, and upskilling match day delivery teams;
- Increased support for the women鈥檚 game with additional resources being channelled towards the Women鈥檚 Basketball League;
- Enhanced collaboration between the BBL and its clubs on local community work;
As part of the agreement 777, which already owns BBL franchise the London Lions, will acquire a 45% in the league. Its sports portfolio also includes football sides Sevilla in Spain's La Liga and Serie A team Genoa in Italy.
Sir Rodney Walker, chairman of the British Basketball League, said the 鈥渟ignificant injection of capital鈥 from 777 would allow the league to 鈥減lan for the future with confidence".
Joshua Wander, managing partner from 777 Partners, added that the firm would work closely alongside clubs and within their respective communities to ensure the investment would 鈥渋ncubate the sport more broadly".
The head coach of the Bristol Flyers men鈥檚 team Andreas Kapoulas told BusinessLive the deal would add value and credibility to the BBL in the longer term, helping clubs to retain home-grown talent and attract talented players away from competitions such as the EuroLeague, which have previously afforded more competitive salaries.
The Greek coach, who also has experience working as head coach of Great Britain鈥檚 Under 20s side, said the funding would also support basketball as a growing market in the 海角视频.
According to figures from Sport England, basketball is the second most-played team sport in the 海角视频, with a quarter of teenagers playing at least twice a month and 47% of participants coming from a non-white background - the highest of any sport.
There are also over 8.4 million basketball fans living in the 海角视频, demonstrating the significant interest levels there are in the sport.
Mr Kapoulas said: 鈥淔rom the business side of things I think [the investment] is great for the sport and for the clubs. There have been so many people involved in trying to make basketball a success across the 海角视频.
鈥淚 think what this does is it gives us the opportunity right now; it puts us in the spotlight. We鈥檝e got to be smart about how we do things. This is not about short-term success, it's about long-term sustainability and long-term growth of the sport. This is a defining moment, and I hope we make the most of it.鈥
Mr Kapoulas said the initial 拢7m announced for the ambitious plans was a 鈥渟olid start鈥, and there needed to be more exposure of the BBL in mainstream media to help create an 鈥渁lternative鈥 product for 海角视频 sports fans, rather than trying to compete with football and rugby.
Sky Sports is the current broadcast partner of the BBL, showing one league match live every weekend across the season.
Mr Kapoulas said: 鈥淲hat we want to do right now is build a sustainable programme. The enhanced leadership team is going to be a great starting point. I think what they will do is attract other sponsors and big brands. The opportunities for further funding will be there. We have to utilise the current funding, and be smart about the choices we make as a sport. I think further funding will follow from there.
鈥淏asketball has this untapped potential that we hear about all the time. I think that it is great that we have this level of funding and 777 are showing that commitment and that interest in our sport. Now we have just got to do everything in our hands to maximise this and find further support and investment.鈥
Mr Kapoulas said he had no concerns over whether the owner of a rival team having such a large stake in the league would have any impact on the governance of the elite game and the wider development of the sport.
The coach said that a similar model was in place with the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia, where the league鈥檚 owner, property developer and media entrepreneur Larry Kestelman, is also part of the ownership of one of its franchises, Melbourne United.
Mr Kapoulas said: "A lot of people argue that the NBL is operating at an even higher level that the EuroLeague and is the second best league in the world. I don鈥檛 know if that is necessarily the case but that has worked in their situation. Ours is a little bit different.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any concerns. I think it is great for our sport that a company and an investment firm is showing so much interest. I think you can see with the London Lions, success takes time and it's great to see them this year doing so well in European competition.
鈥淲e can always try to be sceptical about things. But the bottom line is that we have a real opportunity, we鈥檝e got to maximise it and do everything in our hands to make it successful.鈥
Mr Kapoulas said there was both an appetite for an expanded league and room for growth, adding that all current clubs must be in a solid financial position first before the addition of more teams.
Ahead of the 2021/22 season Worcester Wolves withdrew from the BBL, citing financial issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the reasons.
Mr Kapoulas said: 鈥淸The new investment] will not necessarily be a cash injection or anything like that. I think it will come in a lot of different forms, every club will have different needs. That鈥檚 the reality of the situation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about getting a pot of money. It鈥檚 about investing in the right areas for each club. For Bristol it will look like something different to Newcastle. Behind this investment there is a real plan and real ambition to help each club to grow.鈥
Bristol Flyers is an affiliate club of Bristol Sport, a group of sport companies owned by Stephen Lansdown, the co-founder of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown.
In June, Bristol Sport submitted a planning application for a proposed 4,000 capacity venue next to Ashton Gate Stadium that could become the Flyers' new home. The team currently plays its home games in the SGS College Arena, one of the smaller venues in the BBL.
Mr Kapoulas said the club was hopeful they would receive the go-ahead for the plans in the 鈥渘ext few weeks鈥, adding that the potential move to a bigger venue could change the way it operated 鈥渙vernight.鈥
He said: 鈥淚t could be a real experience for someone or a family in Bristol, to watch a football or rugby game, have some food, and then come and watch a basketball game afterwards. It could have a real sports village feel to it, which I think could be amazing for the city.
鈥淲e would not be able to achieve something like that without Stephen Lansdown and his family. They are leaving a real legacy in Bristol.
鈥淲e want Bristol to be one of, if not the top, sporting city in the 海角视频, that鈥檚 our ambition. Certainly here at the Flyers it is about inspiring our community through basketball excellence, and to just keep on growing and building year-on-year.鈥
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