Let’s Talk Ball in Europe
When starting or purchasing a team in Europe comes up in discussion many times it is met with a blank stare. Here in the United States we have been guilty of ignoring the development of basketball in Europe. 2004 caught Team USA completely by surprise. Many of the future stars of the NBA are currently being born in Europe and all across the World. This article is specifically designed to give potiental OMT owners the opportunity to build a knowledge base of a subject that might be unfamiliar to them.
Many Pro teams in Europe develop talent as young as 10 years old. These teams have under 12 teams, under 16 teams, and so on. The top players in the local community will likely end up on the pro team for that community (at least intially).
FIBA is the governing body of basketball in Europe. All the leagues play under FIBA rules. They decide if your team can move up to the next league in a particular country. That depends on both finances and winning. Europe also has international competitions like EuroLeague and EuroCup. The top teams from each country have the opportunity to compete in EuroCup. The top teams in the EuroCup can eventually end up in the EuroLeague.
Arenas are much smaller in Europe compared to the USA. The Iowa Energy (D League) play in an arena that seats over 16,000 people. CSKA Moscow (a team with a 50 million dollar operating budget) has an arena that seats around 5,500 people. On the extreme end Panathinaikos Athens has an arena that seats 19,000 people. While CSKA Moscow has an enormous operating budget (and Athens has a large arena), there are teams in the EuroLeague with much smaller budgets and arenas. Union Olimpija is a franchise in Slovenia and the EuroLeague. Their yearly operating budget is around 3.1 million dollars. Hala Tivoli (their arena) seats around 5,200 people. Air Avellino in Italy plays in an arena that seats only 4,000 people.
Countries in Europe are in many cases smaller than states here in the good ole’ USA. The entire country of Denmark is smaller than the state of Iowa. The travel costs for a league in Denmark would be much lower than a minor league club in the CBA or PBL.
What are the best leagues in Europe? Click here to read an article that discuses this. Many do regard the ACB league in Spain to be the best league even though teams in Russia and Greece might have a larger operating budget. As a whole, competition is at its highest in Spain. The worst teams in the ACB are a lot better than the worst teams in the Russian SuperLeague A. Import players in the ACB, France ProA, and Italy SerieA can expect to make six figures. Many athletes make 6 or 7 figures on top teams in Russia, Greece, and Germany as well. Leagues like Denmark, Norway, and Finland do not generally pay their players six figures. Top import players might expect to pull down $50,000 USD at most. Many bring in $20,000-$30,000 which is more than the D-League that starts at $12,000. A country like Denmark is known by agents and players as a great league to start a career in Europe.
What type of player could you expect to sign on a team in Denmark? Josh Gross is a 6′6 guard/forward out of UNC-Greensboro. Last season he averaged close to 15 points per game and 5 rebounds. Josh now likely understands he will not be playing in the NBA, but his season in the D-League would make him an excellent candidate to play in Denmark this coming season. A team in Denmark might offer him $40,000 for the season. That would likely average out to 5,000 a month.
Keep in mind various countries have different rules. You can’t play in the BBL (UK) as an import player without four years of college. Iceland limits each team’s roster to only 2 players from the United States. One great thing about Belgium is the lack of restrictions on import players. Optima Gent has 6 players from the USA listed on their roster. My belief is that we can compete with teams that have larger budgets down the road in the EuroCup. We literally could go up against teams that are paying one player $250,000 a year while our top player might make $30,000 to $60,000.
Hopefully this article has scratched the surface of what running a team in Europe would be like. Denmark’s top league starts in early October and the regular season ends 21 games later in early March. The finals end in late April. Teams in Denmark’s top league do get the opportunity to qualify for the EuroCup. The top teams in the EuroCup eventually do get the opportunity to replace some of the teams at the bottom of the EuroLeague. If OMT runs a team in Europe it might start small, but it has the opportunity to compete in a league only second to the NBA. This is not something the PBL, NBDL, CBA, or any other domestic league can claim. Honestly, a D-League title doesn’t really matter to the vast majority of basketball fans. Ask a fan in NYC, LA, or anytown USA who won the D League title or the PBL title. Even locals to that town won’t know. Ask a basketball fan in Europe who won the EuroLeague title. CSKA Moscow!
If you have the budget to play in the PBL, then you do have the option of running a team in Europe instead. Would you rather go after a country title and EuroCup birth or a CBA/PBL title?
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