How French basketball caught on to NBA-style sports business
Feature'Planet NBA' (3/6). Since its creation in 1946, the National Basketball Association has established itself as both an American powerhouse and a global brand. In France, where clubs are mainly based in medium-sized towns such as Cholet and Limoges, the NBA's cultural cachet is hard to resist.
The Halle Georges-Carpentier is not renowned for its gala evenings. Since the 1960s, this gymnasium with its corrugated iron walls has served as a buffer between the towers of Paris's 13th arrondissement and the ring road. The neighborhood's schoolchildren, children of African and Asian immigrants, know the multi-purpose arena by heart. The arena is a symbol of the newfound importance placed on leisure activities during France's "trente glorieuses", a three-decade period of economic growth after the Second World War. At the beginning of April, a few hundred people turned up at the entrance of the sports hall.
That evening, Paris Basketball was hosting Fos Provence Basket (the club from Fos-sur-Mer, in the Bouches-du-Rhône region of France), in a no-stakes game in Betclic Élite, the top division of the French basketball championship. Attendance was low; two of the four stands had been closed. A crackling sound system played hip-hop, while the screen – not exactly giant – projected images of National Basketball Association (NBA) stars, idols that are distant yet so familiar. "It all begins here," proclaimed a banner hanging from the ceiling. The modest surroundings don't tamp down ambition.
Sitting on the edge of the court, Paris Basketball founder David Kahn watched his players warm up with a fixed expression above his protruding jawline. The 61-year-old American is a tough guy – he admits it himself. This former general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA franchise is on a mission. He wants to shake up the gentle amateurism of local basketball and import American-style "sports business," a sector that he believes has untapped economic potential in France. While basketball culture is urban, it is usually found outside of France's cities: Half of Betclic Élite teams play in towns with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Paris, with twice the population of a department like Maine-et-Loire, has three times fewer players.
A ticket for €1,875
With over 700,000 club players, France is a basketball nation that doesn't know it – it's the second most popular team sport behind football and is brimming with talent. San Antonio Spurs' new star, Victor Wembanyama, is the latest example. Nor does the country lack interest in the NBA. "It has all the characteristics of something that can explode," predicted Kahn. It hasn't escaped his notice that the French are Europe's biggest consumers of NBA merchandise. Nor that the 14,700 tickets for the match between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons at the Accor Arena in Bercy, in January, sold out in less than half an hour, at prices ranging from €80 to €1,875.
You have 87.37% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.