The NBA’s plans to launch a new basketball league in Europe next year have suffered a setback after Barcelona reportedly decided against signing up to the ambitious project.
Barcelona, one of the continent’s most successful and prestigious teams, were among the established names courted by the NBA and its advisors JPMorgan and Raine Group.
But the club are said to have instead decided to stay in EuroLeague for a further 10 years, dealing a major blow to the NBA as its chiefs visit Europe this week.
Real Madrid are yet to show their hand but Barcelona’s continued presence in EuroLeague is considered to make it more likely that their fellow Spaniards follow suit.
It comes as the NBA’s top executives, Adam Silver and Mark Tatum, visit Berlin and London this week for the league’s annual overseas games and, as revealed by City AM last month, to present to prospective sponsors. Both cities have been lined up to have teams in NBA Europe.
The NBA has eyed a more permanent footprint on this side of the Atlantic for some time and believes it can tap what it sees as an under-commercialised European appetite for basketball.
Its plans, drawn up with world governing body Fiba, involve a semi-open league made up of 12 permanent franchises plus four teams who qualify on a year-by-year basis.
Some potential franchise owners have baulked at the proposed entry price of between $500m and $1bn, however, with Barcelona among those said to be sceptical of the value it offered.
NBA dealt blow on eve of return to London
The NBA has targeted other football club owners, such as those at Paris Saint-Germain and Todd Boehly at Chelsea, believing them to have brands that could drive interest.
But those owners are understood to have pushed back at the cost, arguing that their clubs’ profiles bring significant value to NBA Europe and should be priced into any deals.
On Sunday, the O2 will host a regular-season NBA game for the first time in seven years when the Memphis Grizzlies play the Orlando Magic.
The following day the NBA is staging an event for potential foundational commercial partners in its new European venture at a swanky central London hotel.
Next year the league will take a game to the Co-op Arena in Manchester, where it also hopes to have a permanent NBA Europe franchise.
The NBA and EuroLeague were contacted for comment.
