London remains top target for Euroleague expansion

London remains the Euroleague’s top expansion target, with the organisation prioritising getting it right over rushing the project, especially after the summer collapse of the 777-owned London Lions.

In a wide-ranging feature with SportBusiness just before Christmas, Euroleague staff spoke on what happened with the previous ownership group of the club, and their keenness for a London club in the Euroleague.

“The 777 situation was unfortunate,” Alex Ferrer Kristjansson the Euroleague’s Chief Marketing Communications Officer told SportBusiness.

“Obviously, we thought we were closer to a London team than we actually were. Now it’s about keeping an eye on how things progress with the Lions. The new ownership is building the project in a sustainable way but they have kept the ambition of joining the EuroLeague at some point.

“We would be delighted for that to be sooner rather than later, but there’s no rush. The important thing is that we get it right, so we will wait for as long as we need to: until we identify a strong and solid project in London or somewhere else in the UK.”

The Lions are now owned by Lithuanian tech hub Tesonet, who are a shareholder of Euroleague side Zalgiris.

Despite not being in the EuroCup this season, the club is known to have European ambitions, and the new ownership group has said they are “dedicated to introducing operational sustainability practices to secure the long-term health and success of the club.”

“Basketball brings something that other sports can’t bring: an authentic link back into lifestyle and inner city culture,” Gawain Davies, Euroleague’s Chief Commercial Officer added.

“We are an inner-city sport and we trend younger than most other sports based on the data we have.”

He continued: “If we can bring London into the league then we will have exceptional coverage and an almost unique coverage for a single property.”

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