Basketball ‘needs Fresh Start’ Says Bba

Following the British Basketball Association’s decision to announce plans for a new premier professional basketball league, David Paton – chief commercial & operating officer at the BBA – has claimed the sport needs a fresh start to showcase leading homegrown talent alongside some of the world’s best and provide a timely boost for the sport in the country.

‘British Basketball needs a fresh start,’ Paton told sportindustry.biz. ‘I compare where basketball is in the UK to where soccer was in America just after the 1994 World Cup – you had the North American Soccer League, it had an element of success, it had attracted some big players, it had at least one team that was world renowned in terms of the New York Cosmos, however it was in the doldrums. Major League Soccer was launched about two years after the World Cup and if you look at where the competition is now and how soccer is prevalent, certainly at the grassroots and kids level, there is a lot of participation.’

‘I akin that to where the BBL and British Basketball are at the moment. The British Basketball League is what it is. It’s the only professional league in the country, but it’s poorly run, there are players not earning a living wage, it’s not sustainable and it’s not attracting commercial revenues that we believe a new league starting afresh could.’

‘We have got a tremendous management and advisory team in place that will attract top end sponsors and partners, and that’s the difference. We can attract that and spend it on British basketball, getting the right franchises in place and really driving participation from grass roots through to the elite.’

The breakaway group has already garned high-level support, with John Amaechi brought onboard as co-director, with a wealth of experience on the management board, including Ken Olisa as chairman of the BBA and Ron Scott, chief executive officer, who will also spearhead the development of the new league. 

Paton, who himself joined from Grant Thornton where he led the company’s Sports Advisory Group, continued: ‘We have got a number of individuals from the UK and from the US who bring a mixture of sport and business experience and acumen to the table.’ 

‘John Amaechi comes with a vast amount of knowledge of both the NBA and British Basketball, as well as grassroots basketball and what needs to be put in place to really drive participation and the elite pathway to get kids up to that next level.’ 

With an initial pool of eight franchised teams, each covering a major UK city, the BBA aims to stage its first pre-season game in October 2014 with the first league game following in November 2014. The BBA will then have the option of increasing the number of franchises to 14 depending on the level of demand.

A number of negotiations with franchises and sponsors are in an advanced stage, according to Paton.

‘We are close to finalising the first franchise, we are in extended talks with two more franchises and we are in initial negotiations with another three parties. On top of that we are talking to some of the major global brands that have been associated with a variety of sports worldwide and huge interest has been generated which has succeeded our expectations.’ 

‘There is a feeling of the need for a professional basketball league in the UK but at a much higher level than anything we have had so far.’

Paton also speaks on the recent funding cuts from UK Sport in the full interview, which can be viewed here.