UP546 NBA Europe: It’s not about basketball

The NBA Europe franchise sale process has moved from speculation to live transaction. Franchise fees of $500m to $1bn. No broadcast deal. Governance terms that European investors have already pushed back on. And a city map — London, Paris, Madrid, Rome — that looks more like a premium real estate index than a list of places where people actually watch basketball.Lenz Balan is right in the middle of it. He's the CEO of the London Lions, the club he helped save from administration after the collapse of 777 Partners, his former employer. He's seeking to build a new arena. He's positioning the Lions for NBA Europe and EuroLeague. And he's one of the few people who can speak to both the investment case and the on-the-ground reality of trying to grow basketball in a city that keeps saying it's ready.This conversation covers the money — what kind of capital actually makes sense for a multi-decade project with unresolved economics. The fan map problem — whether London is genuinely a basketball market or a hospitality venue dressed up as one. And the questions that still don't have answers: media rights, player movement, the EuroLeague endgame.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.