Pistons < Spurs
08-21-2007, 09:52 PM
Franchises based in Europe remain the long-term goal of the NBA and regular season games in Europe between NBA teams are being discussed, the head of the league's new London office told AFP.
Sophie Goldschmidt, the National Basketball Association's Vice-President of Marketing Partnerships and Business Development for Europe, said Europe, and Britain in particular, held a great deal of potential for the league and the sport.
Asked whether NBA franchises in Europe remained a prospect for fans of the league here, Goldschmidt said: "I think it's a long-term goal. It's definitely something we're open to having some sort of research done on.
"Ultimately, down the road, that could well be an option."
Goldschmidt noted, however, there was no timeline on the expansion of the NBA into Europe.
She added that regular season games -- following on from pre-season games that four NBA teams will be participating in across Europe in October -- were an idea that had been "thrown out there and discussed, but there isn't a set timeline on that".
"At the moment, we're just focused on building the sport further in all the different markets ... really spread the game and try and grow the sport," she said in a telephone conversation following the opening of the NBA's London office earlier this month.
Expansion into Europe, aside from the NBA's own long-term views, remains a difficult proposition, as prospective owners would have to build NBA-size indoor arenas -- of which NBA officials have said there are only a handful -- and would have to overcome concerns over travel, among other struggles.
For now, the NBA's plan to expand into Britain, where basketball has a limited foothold, is to focus on the grassroots, and try and grow the league's brand with the help of new local stars such as Chicago Bulls forward and Great Britain international Luol Deng.
"We thought it made sense to have an increased presence in the UK, also leading up to 2012 and the Olympics, and seeing an opportunity in the lead up to that," Goldschmidt said.
"When you can have that local relevance, it makes your story much stronger and more relevant to the local people... we do have some good local talent, highlighted by Luol Deng, who is only really now beginning to get significant attention in the UK.
"Having a player like that to really associate the sport with, we feel can make a big impact."
The London office, which has only a handful of staff but is looking to expand, joins a long list of foreign bases for the NBA, with Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai among others.
It is planning to run several events in the coming months, the first one dubbed "NBA Madness", set for the first week of September in southeast London's O2 Arena -- the site of an October 10 pre-season game between Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves, a game which Goldschmidt said sold out before marketing even got under way.
"We were very pleasantly surprised ourselves, and that really underlined the potential of even the popularity that's already here that people aren't aware of," she said.
"This is a long-term commitment... we're committed to the future, we believe in the European region. With all the players coming out of the different European markets, we feel that gives us a real basis and foundation to grow the game and the NBA overall."
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-basketnbaeuropegbr&prov=afp&type=lgns
Sophie Goldschmidt, the National Basketball Association's Vice-President of Marketing Partnerships and Business Development for Europe, said Europe, and Britain in particular, held a great deal of potential for the league and the sport.
Asked whether NBA franchises in Europe remained a prospect for fans of the league here, Goldschmidt said: "I think it's a long-term goal. It's definitely something we're open to having some sort of research done on.
"Ultimately, down the road, that could well be an option."
Goldschmidt noted, however, there was no timeline on the expansion of the NBA into Europe.
She added that regular season games -- following on from pre-season games that four NBA teams will be participating in across Europe in October -- were an idea that had been "thrown out there and discussed, but there isn't a set timeline on that".
"At the moment, we're just focused on building the sport further in all the different markets ... really spread the game and try and grow the sport," she said in a telephone conversation following the opening of the NBA's London office earlier this month.
Expansion into Europe, aside from the NBA's own long-term views, remains a difficult proposition, as prospective owners would have to build NBA-size indoor arenas -- of which NBA officials have said there are only a handful -- and would have to overcome concerns over travel, among other struggles.
For now, the NBA's plan to expand into Britain, where basketball has a limited foothold, is to focus on the grassroots, and try and grow the league's brand with the help of new local stars such as Chicago Bulls forward and Great Britain international Luol Deng.
"We thought it made sense to have an increased presence in the UK, also leading up to 2012 and the Olympics, and seeing an opportunity in the lead up to that," Goldschmidt said.
"When you can have that local relevance, it makes your story much stronger and more relevant to the local people... we do have some good local talent, highlighted by Luol Deng, who is only really now beginning to get significant attention in the UK.
"Having a player like that to really associate the sport with, we feel can make a big impact."
The London office, which has only a handful of staff but is looking to expand, joins a long list of foreign bases for the NBA, with Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai among others.
It is planning to run several events in the coming months, the first one dubbed "NBA Madness", set for the first week of September in southeast London's O2 Arena -- the site of an October 10 pre-season game between Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves, a game which Goldschmidt said sold out before marketing even got under way.
"We were very pleasantly surprised ourselves, and that really underlined the potential of even the popularity that's already here that people aren't aware of," she said.
"This is a long-term commitment... we're committed to the future, we believe in the European region. With all the players coming out of the different European markets, we feel that gives us a real basis and foundation to grow the game and the NBA overall."
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-basketnbaeuropegbr&prov=afp&type=lgns