{"id":515281,"date":"2026-09-13T13:55:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=515281"},"modified":"2026-09-13T13:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:55:14","slug":"virtus-bologna-becomes-virtus-costa-bologna-with-costa-crociere-as-title-sponsor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/virtus-bologna-becomes-virtus-costa-bologna-with-costa-crociere-as-title-sponsor\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtus Bologna becomes Virtus Costa Bologna with Costa Crociere as Title Sponsor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"8f3804ae-6756-456b-a3c7-b24e887376b9\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-6\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"fbskMG_root markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\">\n<h2 class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-section-id=\"1750pmp\" data-start=\"226\" data-end=\"264\">Costa Crociere joins Virtus Bologna<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"266\" data-end=\"486\"><strong data-start=\"266\" data-end=\"284\">Costa Crociere<\/strong> will be the new <strong data-start=\"301\" data-end=\"367\">Title Sponsor and Main Sponsor of Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna<\/strong> for the 2026\/27 season. As a result, the team will compete in the Italian LBA under the name <strong data-start=\"461\" data-end=\"485\">Virtus Costa Bologna<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"488\" data-end=\"647\">The agreement will cover the entire season, with the Costa brand accompanying Virtus in the <strong data-start=\"580\" data-end=\"609\">Lega Basket Serie A (LBA)<\/strong> during the club&#8217;s centenary campaign.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"649\" data-end=\"918\">The partnership and the new Virtus jersey were officially unveiled on Sunday, September 13, aboard <strong data-start=\"748\" data-end=\"766\">Costa Pacifica<\/strong> in Savona, Costa Crociere&#8217;s home port. The presentation brought together Costa Crociere CEO <strong data-start=\"859\" data-end=\"876\">Mario Zanetti<\/strong> and Virtus President <strong data-start=\"898\" data-end=\"917\">Massimo Zanetti<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1ekatao\" data-start=\"920\" data-end=\"963\">A partnership between two Italian brands<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"965\" data-end=\"1129\">The choice of Costa Pacifica as the setting for the announcement symbolically brings together two Italian excellences: the cruise industry and top-level basketball.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1131\" data-end=\"1521\">The partnership aims to combine the identities of two established Italian brands with an international reach. For Costa Crociere, the agreement strengthens its presence in a strategic area such as Bologna, Emilia-Romagna and Northern Italy. For Virtus, it represents a partnership with an Italian brand capable of supporting the club&#8217;s visibility and activities beyond the basketball court.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1523\" data-end=\"2068\">\u201c<strong data-start=\"1524\" data-end=\"1801\">With Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, a partnership is born between two realities that have a lot in common: the same ambition to be at the top, the same ability to turn an evening or a journey into an emotion that lasts, and two important histories looking toward the future.<\/strong> We are alongside Virtus in its centenary season and as it opens its new home, with the desire to work together on projects capable of bringing together two Italian excellences recognized in Europe and around the world,\u201d said <strong data-start=\"2027\" data-end=\"2067\">Mario Zanetti, CEO of Costa Crociere<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1qf2gne\" data-start=\"2070\" data-end=\"2111\">Initiatives for fans and the community<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2113\" data-end=\"2219\">The collaboration will go beyond the presence of the Costa logo on the Virtus jersey and inside the arena.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2221\" data-end=\"2529\">Throughout the season, the two organizations will develop initiatives designed to connect the world of cruising with basketball. Virtus players will take part in experiences aboard Costa ships, while events and activities for fans and local communities will be organized in Bologna, Liguria and across Italy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2531\" data-end=\"2755\">The partnership will also accompany <strong data-start=\"2567\" data-end=\"2610\">Virtus Bologna&#8217;s centenary celebrations<\/strong>, with special moments and exclusive initiatives designed to bring the club, its fans, the brand and the surrounding territories closer together.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"h67gtp\" data-start=\"2757\" data-end=\"2810\">Massimo Zanetti: \u201cTogether we can do great things\u201d<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2812\" data-end=\"2934\">Virtus President <strong data-start=\"2829\" data-end=\"2848\">Massimo Zanetti<\/strong> welcomed the new partnership and highlighted the symbolic value of the collaboration.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2936\" data-end=\"3347\">\u201cI want to express my gratitude to Costa Crociere for accepting the proposal to link its historic brand with the equally historic Virtus Pallacanestro, which I have the honor of presiding over. <strong data-start=\"3130\" data-end=\"3256\">The journey that begins today is the classic journey of sport: commitment, sweat and professionalism to achieve our goals.<\/strong> If we turn that journey into a cruise, it will mean that we have added beauty and success.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3349\" data-end=\"3506\">\u201cThe Costa brand is a great added value not only for my club, Bologna and basketball, but for Italian sport as a whole. <strong data-start=\"3469\" data-end=\"3504\">Together we can do great things<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"167bc0c\" data-start=\"3508\" data-end=\"3544\">A new identity for Virtus Bologna<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"3546\" data-end=\"3692\">With the unveiling of the new jersey on September 13, the curtain officially rose on <strong data-start=\"3631\" data-end=\"3691\">Virtus Bologna&#8217;s new identity for the 2026\/27 LBA season<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3694\" data-end=\"3883\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The centenary campaign will therefore begin with Costa Crociere alongside the team, combining basketball, Italian excellence and a season of initiatives dedicated to fans and the community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none -mb-px h-px w-full opacity-0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Italian cruise company joins the club as Title and Main Sponsor for the 2026\/27 season, marking the centenary year of Virtus Bologna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":515278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_spbk_hide_featured":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[259],"tags":[],"rumors":[],"typology":[15727],"posizionamento":[],"class_list":["post-515281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-serie-a","typology-press-release-en"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/09\/DSC01208-1024x683-1.jpg","digistream_id":0,"digistream":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515281"},{"taxonomy":"rumors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rumors?post=515281"},{"taxonomy":"typology","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/typology?post=515281"},{"taxonomy":"posizionamento","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posizionamento?post=515281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}