An unexpected rivalry has emerged over the London franchise of the new basketball league the NBA plans to launch in Europe. According to Sky News, the Lewis family, who control Tottenham Hotspur, are competing with the club's former chairman Daniel Levy to gain control of the London team. According to the report, the Lewis family is part of a consortium that has submitted an offer to buy the proposed London basketball team; the family has teamed up with the Checketts family, who have owned or invested in professional sports franchises including Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake and the NHL's St Louis Blues, and the Eccles family, who have helped develop sporting facilities linked to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
According to the report, The Athletic states that a separate consortium led by technology billionaire Nikesh Arora is also preparing a bid worth more than $1 billion for the London franchise. It's noted that Battersea Power Station's undeveloped estate has been mentioned as a possible arena site. It's recalled that Tottenham, under the Lewis family's ownership, have regularly finished in the Premier League's top half, qualifying for the Champions League six times and finishing as high as second in 2017, though the club has won just two trophies in that span and finished 17th in each of the last two seasons.
NBA Europe is expected to launch in 2027 with 12 permanent franchises and four additional clubs qualifying each season, with London one of the target markets alongside Manchester, Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Milan. It's noted that David Checketts previously served as general manager of the Utah Jazz and president of the New York Knicks, while the Eccles family owns stakes in Burnley and Espanyol. With Levy said to be part of a separate consortium alongside Liberty Global and MSP Sports Capital, it's emphasised that this intriguing rivalry between Tottenham's former and current owners should become clearer with the first transactions expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Source: The Athletic
Image: Football London
Tuna Başkan
Marmara Üniversitesi İşletme bölümü öğrencisiyim. Victorum News bünyesinde küresel spor medyası, güncel gündem ve SEO odaklı içerikleri yöneten bir haber yazarıyım. Önceliğim, okura en hızlı şekilde ve daima teyit edilmiş haber ulaştırmaktır. İşletme eğitimimden gelen bakış açımı dijital habercilikle birleştirerek, ürettiğim her içeriğe hız ve güvenilirliği bir arada kazandırmayı hedefliyorum.
Discuss this in Forum
Join the conversation with thousands of sports fans. Share your opinion, predict the results, and earn reputation points!
forum Comments (0)
No results found
