Exclusive: London Lions owner pledges ‘hundreds of millions’ for new arena Sport Business The Lithuanian billionaire who rescued London Lions has revealed he is ready to spend “hundreds of millions of pounds” to build their new home. Tomas Okmanas, the co-founder of cybersecurity company Nord, said the purpose-built basketball arena – by far Britain’s biggest – could house up to 20,000 spectators. The plans were first announced on [...]
WNBA: Serena Williams joins ownership group of basketball franchise Sport Business Tennis superstar Serena Williams has joined the ownership group for a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) expansion franchise. Toronto Tempo have welcomed the 43-year-old into their group alongside Larry Tanenbaum, who is the chairman of controllers Kilmer Sports Ventures and owns the likes of AS Saint-Étienne of Ligue 1. The WNBA has 13 teams but [...]
Why the NBA has reinvented All-Star Weekend in a bid to revive it Sport Business The NBA has made drastic changes to its All-Star Weekend in an attempt to breathe new life into a spectacle that has lost half of its audience. Todd Boehly and his consortium of US investors didn’t waste any time in ripping up the rulebook after they took over at Chelsea in the summer of 2022. [...]
US bidders for British basketball league aren’t another 777, says federation January 30, 2025 The chair of the British Basketball Federation (BBF) has dismissed fears of another 777 Partners over plans to hand control of its league to more US investors. The BBF had to strip the 777-owned British Basketball League (BBL) of its licence last year after the Miami-based fund ran out of money, leaving clubs facing extinction. [...]
British basketball at war: Clubs split from federation over new league plan January 29, 2025 Civil war has broken out in British basketball after furious Super League Basketball clubs vowed to break away from the British Basketball Federation over plans to impose a new league on them. Super League Basketball (SLB) teams say they were not consulted by the British Basketball Federation (BBF) before it announced former Portland Trail Blazers [...]
NBA Europe? League ‘looking very closely’ at new competition, says Silver January 24, 2025 NBA commissioner Adam Silver has dropped the clearest hint yet that it will push ahead with plans to launch a basketball league in Europe. Silver said he had been encouraged by talks with clubs, media, sponsors and governing body Fiba during talks ahead of the NBA’s two games in Paris this week. “While Europe continues [...]
Caledonia Gladiators review hiring after signing murder suspect Malik Dunbar January 16, 2025 British basketball team Caledonia Gladiators say they are reviewing their recruitment process after discovering that recent signing Malik Dunbar is a murder suspect. The Scottish club say they sacked Dunbar and fellow American Jared Wilson-Frame on Tuesday, just weeks after signing them, for “a serious breach of club discipline”. Caledonia Gladiators added that it was [...]
Sport in 2025: A rallying cry to London, Mayor Khan and Londoners January 2, 2025 For at least the past five years it has felt as if London was disappearing off the global sporting stage. The capital may boast the Home of Cricket, 17 professional football clubs and five stadiums with a capacity of over 50,000 but huge sporting events have sought refuge in the likes of Saudi Arabia, the [...]
Arise Sir Southgate: Former England manager knighted in New Years Honours December 30, 2024 England’s former football manager Gareth Southgate has been bestowed the honour of a knighthood in King Charles III’s New Year Honours list. Sir Gareth, 54, led England to back-to-back Euros finals in 2021 and 2024, where the Three Lions were toppled by Italy and Spain in the showpiece finals. But the former player has been [...]
British basketball handed major boost in LA 2028 Olympic funding December 16, 2024 British basketball has received a major boost after UK Sport more than doubled its funding allocation for the LA 2028 Olympic cycle. The sport is by far the biggest beneficiary from the record overall package of £330m, which will see its funding increasing from £1.35m to £2.93m. Skateboarding, climbing, weightlifting and baseball/softball are the other [...]