Former NBAer Sarunas Marciulionis founded the Northern
European Basketball League (NEBL) in '99, a "rival group" to
FIBA that "unabashedly copies the commercial ways" of the
NBA (see THE DAILY, 1/21), according to Benjamin Smith of
WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE, who wrote that Marciulionis
"and others are out to reinvent the way European sports are
played, managed and packaged." The 14-team league "covers
all the teams' costs and pays a $45,000 cash prize" to the
league champion, in exchange for TV and marketing rights.
Sponsors "get a piece of the action, too," and inaugural
season sponsors "ranged from" DHL Worldwide Express and
Scandinavian Airlines to Russia-based vitamin-supplement
maker Vision Int'l. While "more than" 40 clubs have applied
for "five empty slots" in the league's 2001 schedule, next
year the league will have 16 teams, including teams from
England and The Netherlands (WSJ.COM, 7/11).
IBL HAPPY: IBL VP/Basketball Operations George Blaney
said that all eight of the league's original teams will
return for the second season, and "they'll be joined by at
least one new team." The league will have a team in Flint,
MI, next season called the Stones. The IBL averaged 3,100
per game during its first season and Blaney called the
inaugural season, "Sensational. The quality of play far
exceeded anybody's expectations. ... The main thing is we
survived, and survival is so important in any start-up
business" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 7/13).
