Barcelona will be represented at the highest level tomorrow and the day after as 13 EuroLeague clubs gather for a summit on Lake Como in Italy.
According to the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Barça president Joan Laporta will head the Barcelona delegation himself. He had initially considered handing the task to board member Sisco Pujol, head of the basketball department, and chief executive Xavi O'Callaghan.
In the end, Laporta chose to lead the delegation personally. The stakes explain why: the summit will decide whether to approve the sale of the EuroLeague to the American National Basketball Association (NBA) or to stick with the current model. He arrives wanting to listen and exchange views before Barcelona settles on its final position.
The meeting boils down to this. The clubs that own the EuroLeague must weigh up two options. The first is to stay put, keeping management in the hands of the clubs and pushing on with the business plan.
Option two is a merger with the NBA. That means accepting the best financial and administrative offer on the table, in the full knowledge that it hands over absolute control of the competition and brings in the American business model.
Owners will get their say at the summit, with the aim of building trust between them and tackling three main points:
- The transition from licensing to commercial franchising for the 13 owners.
- Evaluating the offers received to expand the scope of the competition and the process of accepting new franchises.
- Should we continue talking to the American National Basketball Association (NBA) or abandon it and continue running the EuroLeague by the clubs?
Driving Laporta's trip to Italy is an important meeting he held this week in Copenhagen on the sidelines of the European Football Clubs (EFC) association gathering. There he met the NBA's deputy commissioner, Mark Tatum, who had flown to Denmark to sell the presidents of football clubs that own elite basketball teams on the advantages and investments behind the NBA's European project.
That meeting brought together Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The American association also wants to persuade Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan to join the new set-up.
Laporta also has a comprehensive and detailed picture of the American project thanks to his ongoing consultations with Pau Gasol, the Spanish basketball legend, former Barcelona player and historic NBA star with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks.
The "NBA Europe" project: 12 cities targeted for investment
At the heart of the "NBA Europe" project is a foothold in 12 major European cities: Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, Rome, Milan, London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Manchester and Lyon. They would form the nucleus of a 16-team league, with four further clubs joining through competing offers.
The NBA is pushing hard to land the giant football clubs. Their global popularity is overwhelming, and they bring broad marketing experience in commercially investing in and developing sporting competitions.
For its part, Barcelona is waiting to begin building the new Palau Blaugrana. The club insists it will not let the project hit the Espai Barça finances.
One route is to commission a company to build the arena and, in return, operate it to host events for a period of between 35 and 40 years under a franchise agreement.
Barcelona joining the American National Basketball Association (NBA) in Europe would be a key attraction for investors wanting to build the new palace.
Either way, Barcelona want to hear all opinions before choosing between the offers of the American National Basketball Association (NBA) and the EuroLeague.