Patrick Comninos, the CEO of the Basketball Champions League, answered media questions from all over Europe in a “virtual” roundtable that took place in Athens on Saturday, ahead of the Final. You can check the whole roundtable here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_wMw9_SfiM&t=1553s
Here are the main topics that he touched on:
* Final Eight experience
The keyword here is “unique”. All the conditions that brought us here were unique, once-in-a-lifetime because of this pandemic. That’s how we approached the event: we have been committed to offer all clubs the chance to be crowned champions. We hope that, by Monday, we will be able to talk about this event as exceptional and unique because of the delivery of the games, not just the conditions around them.
For now, the feedbacks that I’ve received from all our clubs and our stakeholders have been very positive. We are aware that we have two important games tomorrow, though.
* Burgos as a symbol of what BCL stands for
It’s the first time that a team from the qualification rounds goes to the Final. From a BCL point of view, Burgos demonstrates exactly what we stand for: everybody has a chance to make it to the end. I’m impressed about how committed the entire community in Burgos is, and how much they support the team. Let’s not forget they hold the record for attendance in a regular season game. They perfectly fit our philosophy.
The ACB is a good example of how the BCL has grown. ACB is arguably the most competitive league in Europe. We had just one team at the start of the BCL, now 8 teams applied this season. These teams have realized the opportunity they have to play at the European level. Burgos grew through the ranks of their domestic league – their local success allowed them to be here. It is our goal to give opportunities for clubs like that. Of course, we want good arenas – but first of all we want to give clubs the opportunity to grow by playing in BCL. All in all, we’ve helped each other grow.
* Local help by AEK and the “bubble” concept
We always rely on the local support. Of course, we had to rely on Greek authorities, even more because of the COVID situation. We have had extensive collaboration with them. We are the event organizer and the club is the event host. My understanding is that AEK worked closely with the authorities and did the best to stage this event in the best way possible. I want to thank AEK and all the relevant governmental agencies that helped us to make this happen.
The decision regarding the attendance of fans is up to local authorities, they take the final decision which has to be respected by all. We did have some discussions with them, and they ultimately took the decision to hold the event behind closed doors. We respect it.
It is not easy to organize a bubble event. We collaborated closely with the Spanish and German league. We tried to replicate a system that has worked in other places.
Here in Athens is not a totally controlled “bubble”, because of the timeframe of the event. We have taken extensive effort and we had FIBA Medical people putting in place the most complex mechanisms within the limit of organizing a five-day event.
* Economic commitment by BCL
Who wins the trophy on Sunday will go home with 1 million, we maintained what we had promised at the start of the season. We have not deviated one euro from our original promises and – in today’s world – that’s almost an increase.
Our commitment to the clubs will be the same for the next season – we want to strengthen the clubs, so playing in European competitions should not be a burden but a plus. We will not be changing anything. We want to demonstrate our clubs that we have a vision.
* BCL growth and philosophy
BCL mission is to continue to grow, and to continue to represent as many leagues in Europe as possible. Let’s not forget we just set the record of 18 different leagues being represented in the BCL, in the upcoming regular season. Something that is a first in the last century for European basketball. This gives us the opportunity to reach more fans around the continent. Basketball is not to be played by a handful of clubs.
Our focus is on our future, not on other competitions. Our friends at ECA, they have a different philosophy. It’s not that one is better than the other, they are just different. We believe in the growth of the European basketball. We offer the opportunity to many players and clubs across Europe to play at an high level. We want to help national leagues and clubs to grow. We don’t look at the brand, we look at the results on the court.
We fully respect that there’s another philosophy out there – it’s all about how one wants to approach club’s competition. We’re seeing that our DNA, our philosophy is gaining more and more credibility.
I remain astonished by the fact that so many clubs in Europe continue to lose significant amounts of money. This makes no commercial sense and it’s not a viable business model. It’s a warning that the business structure in European basketball requires reassessment, that’s very clear.
* Next season and a “Plan B”
Our plan B was already executed last week, when we announced the format change of the competition. Moving to a new model of 8 groups of 4 teams. More flexibility for the teams – from 224 RS games to 96 games. Less games, less trips, less logistical challenges. More flexibility and more optimism. As I’ve been saying for some time: it’s not about starting of the season, it’s about finishing the season.
Nobody has a crystal ball for the future, but with the implementation of our Plan B we feel we have taken us closer to our goal of finishing the season.
All the clubs are living under these difficult conditions. They are fully aware that this change was essential. We wanted to make sure we could finish the season, so we introduced a level of relaxation for international travel. We are now into discussions about the rounds after the regular season – we will take our time and see what’s the best solution. Maybe we will have more games and a different formula to make up for some of the games that will be missed in the regular season.
* GBCH role
What we have found with GBCH is an equity partner. They have a percentage in the BCL – they have a vision of growing the league along the line of what we have built. It’s a long-term commitment. We are not talking only about the BCL, we are talking about FIBA’s commitment to strengthen and reshape the global club competition environment. It’s one of the strategic pillars that FIBA has for this term.
We have always put in place a plan that is linked to the growth of the competition. In the first three years, we wanted to gain credibility. We did that. The strategic partnership with GCBH allows us to make the next step and face the challenge. We want to solidify BCL and create added value that can be beneficial for the competitive environment in European basketball.
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