By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four will be held in Cologne, Germany, in late May. The question remains whether fans in a limited capacity will be present at Lanxess Arena to watch the games.
“Of course, not a full house, that’s for sure,” confessed EuroLeague president and CEO Jordi Bertomeu, per AP, “It’s still too early to say if spectators will be allowed to be in the gym, but the most important thing, our biggest concern at the beginning of the season, is that we managed to play the season.”
Additional complications present themselves for the ongoing EuroLeague season compared to the NBA. With teams from several European countries following local guidelines, going through the coronavirus pandemic is a tougher challenge.
“We are still confident that some percentage of fans will be allowed,” added Bertomeu, “So, what we are trying to see is how we can compensate the fact that it will be a different Final Four compared to the previous 16, 17 editions where a Final Four has been typically the big party of European basketball, the showcase of European basketball. In the next weeks or months, we will try to figure out how to do this in the best way possible and how to be close to our fans if they cannot be with us.”
Fans are gradually returning in some EuroLeague arenas with the Regular Season nearing its conclusion. Bertomeu hopes everything will be back to normal for the next season, 2021-22.
“This is not about being optimistic This is being realistic,” he pointed out, “We cannot stay another season far from our fans, without the experience of having them in our arenas. At least in Europe, one of the things that define or describe our sport is the passion of our fans. These amazing crowds that we have is one of the main assets. That means a lot for us when we cannot have them with us.”
The early ending of the 2019-20 season forced the cancelation of the previous Final Four, initially scheduled to take place at Cologne. Euroleague Basketball officially partnered with U.S.-based Elevate Sports Ventures aiming to improve the fan experience and further evolving the Final Four.
“We’ve talked about how can it be more reflective of, say, maybe what you see in the United States around a Super Bowl week or what you may see around some of the biggest sporting events we have,” said Elevate president Chip Bowers, “You can bring communities together to engage in a lot of different passions of life and use that particular event as a gravitational pull to bring people from different cultures together to celebrate this moment in time.”
“We are extremely satisfied to be partnering with Elevate Sports Ventures, one of the biggest entertainment consulting firms, which has identified Euroleague Basketball as its ambassador in the European market,” stated Bertomeu, “This partnership is built upon a common vision to innovate, an interest in re-imagining the premium experience, and dedication to engaging the fan in dynamic, new ways during the most important event of the season, the Final Four. Their enormous expertise with some of the most renowned sports properties, like the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, shows the high level of professionalism that will help bring the Final Four to a new level. I would also like to thank our longtime collaborator Marshall Glickman and his company G2 Strategic for helping us reach this agreement.”