Paris Basketball hosts Panathinaikos Athène at Bercy this Tuesday evening in the EuroLeague. Not by choice but because the Adidas Arena is taken over by an e-sport tournament. “I would have preferred to play all our matches at the Adidas Arena, but Bercy remains an opportunity and was very lively during the Olympics. Receiving the European champion is an event”puts David Kahn, the president of the club, into perspective in L’Équipe.
Never short of strong words, the former director of NBA franchises continues to proclaim that Paris “is the epicenter of European basketball”. In any case, this Tuesday at Bercy, it will be the Athenian collective who will start as favorites. Because he has by far more experience, a plethora of staff due to a substantial budget. And even if Paris has progressed well at this level, it remains far from the means of billionaire Dimitris Giannakopoulos.
The forecast budget for Paris Basketball is around 19 million euros, indicating The Team. Last year, it was announced at 9.25 million euros at the same stage of the season. However, an effort still needs to be made according to David Kahn.
“We want to reach the threshold where our income will equal our expenses. We’re not there. If we were permanent members of the EuroLeague… we would be there. Once again, this is not a way of exerting pressure, it is just to provide a framework, a reference. What is missing, in basketball, both national and European, is a strategy more focused on income linked to TV rights. The popularity of basketball in Europe has never been higher, even more so since the Olympics. We must use this momentum and all work to build the economic model that will help reduce the gap between this cultural power and the insufficient business it generates today. Because when you think about it, it’s incomprehensible, inexplicable. »
With this budget, its new coach Tiago Splitter, and a squad similar to that which won the EuroCup in the spring, Paris Basketball did not come far from knocking down Red Star Belgrade at home then Milan on its two first European releases. But this evening the task promises to be tough. Before the trend ends up being reversed in the future EuroLeague?
