Nordic Leagues Prime for Growth
Over the years basketball has really taken off in Nordic countries as it has all across Europe. However, these leagues are quality, but they aren’t anywhere near the top leagues in Europe. Countries like Spain, France, and Greece have much stronger leagues and pay much higher salaries. Countries like Iceland and Finland have leagues that are great for developing domestic talent and giving imports a place to start their career. Owning a team in one of these Nordic countries might be a great way for OMT to get started overseas.
Some talent from the IBL has made their way to these leagues. Scottie Pippen actually played a game in Sweden last year and made a cool $66,000 USD for his trouble. Rodman has also made big bucks bringing his game to the region. Attendance at these games was sky high, but I’m not sure these teams actually saw a net postive return on their investment. Rodman has played a couple games and made more than $200,000 doing it in leagues like the BBLÂ (UK) and Nordic leagues as well. I just don’t think this gimmick method really promotes attendance and revenue growth for a particular team or league.
My suggestion for these franchises is to focus budget expenditures on securing talent that will play all season long. There are plenty of talented guys that will come in and help you win your country league for 66k a year. A team would likely generate more revenue on season-ticket and single ticket sales by providing a highly competitive team for their community. Instead of focusing on a gimmick a team should go out and get a quality player like a Keith Gayden to come in and start at power forward all year long. Gayden’s alley-oop dunks should attract plenty of fans.
I completely understand what the Dream Team did for basketball as a sport in Europe, but I don’t think bringing in an aging superstar duplicates this. Teams need to sign the best talent they can afford to put on the best product they can night in and night out. These Nordic Leagues can increase their talent so that they can compete in the EuroCup. I wouldn’t be shocked if someday one team made it to the EuroLeague. Starting salaries depend on talent and experience. In some leagues an import player might earn $2500-$4000 a month (with free transportation and housing). If these teams can get this average up a few thousand a month they could sign some quality talent.
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