By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
The Euroleague Final Four in London wasn’t a roaring success. As Euroleague officially admitted the number of fans in the four games were far from a sold out for the first time in recent years (9.218 in Olympiacos vs CSKA, 13.193 in Barcelona vs Real Madrid and 15.169 in the final). The mainstream crowd of the city wasn’t really involved in the event and there were even special offers for the members of the local basketball federation with ticket prices starting from 5 pounds.
Still there isn’t any official decision, but the Final Four will not return to London next year and probably that will also mean the end of Euroleague’s deal with AEG, owner of O2. That’s why Berlin and Prague are not expected to be next year’s Final Four destination. On the contrary Euroleague seems to be thinking of changing is approach to Final Four, reducing ticket prices and selecting a city where at least everyone is aware of European basketball.
There are such cities that want to host the Final Four, like Vitoria in Spain, Kaunas in Lithuania, Ljubljana in Slovenia and Belgrade in Serbia. They all have modern arenas, however it will not be a surprise if Belgrade, which will have two teams in Euroleague next season, get the Final Four, if the local authorities can support such an event.