Euroleague to vote on expansion offers on Tuesday as NBA Europe talks loom

MADRID, Oct 5 : Euroleague shareholder clubs are unlikely to embrace radical change when they meet this week to consider a 10-year strategic plan, experts said on Monday, in a pivotal week for the sport across the continent with the NBA looking to move in.

Representatives from the 13 permanent Euroleague teams were due in Lake Como on Monday night with a vote on Tuesday on a fundamental ownership shift that would transform those shareholders into franchises and expand the competition from 20 teams to 24.

The Euroleague will also evaluate the 14 bids they have received for additional long-term franchise spots, with a maximum of eight to be awarded by ballot.

The proposals from the Euroleague are aimed at sustainability and accelerating long-term growth but sceptics remain.

"I don't think it really changes what it's on the table today for the 13 shareholders," Lega Basket Serie A President Maurizio Gherardini told Reuters.

The strategic plan aims for an aggregate value of the competition and its clubs of €4.3 billion ($4,82 billion) by 2027 and said in a statement on August 25 that projected year-on-year revenue growth had risen to 15 per cent as a result of fresh commercial deals.

Despite the positive projections, Real Madrid budgets show net losses in the basketball division each year since the 2021-22 season. Counterparts Barcelona have posted overall net losses for the past three years, and economist Ivan Cabeza told Reuters that the wider Euroleague model was not sustainable.

"I find it very hard to see how a business like the Euroleague which has been, is, and very likely will continue to be a money-losing venture, could undergo a radical change," Cabeza said.

This could make the NBA Europe project appealing to clubs