By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
When you have a global financial crisis to deal with, you cannot challenge the common sense, by sponsoring a basketball team with an amount close to 2 million euros per season. Not even when you have a signed contract for four years. And that’s why soon enough Bilbao will get a new naming sponsor, other than Gescrap.
The multinational corporation dedicated to the recycling of ferric material residues agreed to be Bilbao’s name sponsor, during the summer of 2011 and the duration of the contract is till the summer of 2015. But, in the mean time, things got harder with the live-ability of the company and new measures needed to be taken.
Our sources say that Bilbao has already agreed with Gescrap to end their contract, with a compensation fee, but before they reached to this agreement, Gorka Arrinda (photo) -the biggest shareholder of the club- found a new deal, so Bilbao can function properly and according to the approved budget for this season (9.000.000 euros). The only thing known for now is that the new sponsor comes from the same domain as Gescrap. When the contracts with Gescrap will be signed and their… divorce will become official, the new sponsor will be announced.
We have to remind that on November 14th, Bilbao Basket learned the Bizkaia’s Provincial Council decided not to… assist the professional clubs, for 2013, as they are trying to cut 1.9 billion euros from their expenses.