City Xtra
·4. Februar 2025
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Yahoo sportsCity Xtra
·4. Februar 2025
Manchester City could feature heavily in the plans of the NBA as they plot an expansion of their brand into Europe, a new report has claimed.
The Premier League champions have shown plenty of desire to be frontrunners when it comes to trends across the sport, and consistently strive for even greater heights to strengthen their pursuit of becoming the biggest football brand on the planet.
Those off-the-field ambitions are also coupled with exceptional infrastructure development plans around the Etihad Stadium, with the long-term goal being to create a one-stop entertainment destination and district in the north-west.
As part of those plans, the Etihad Stadium itself is currently in the process of vast redevelopment both in terms of capacity for supporters and offerings to guests on matchdays including an on-site hotel, food hall, club shop, an array of food and drinks vendors, and more.
The stadium has also been accompanied by the construction of the Co-Op Live arena; the largest indoor arena in Europe by capacity featuring 32 bars, restaurants and lounges and has the largest floor space of any indoor venue in the city.
But now, it appears as though Manchester City could be presented with an opportunity that they will simply have to take, to further extend their branding to a new audience and expand into an American base, too.
According to the information of BasketNews, the NBA and their plans in Europe primarily target ‘financially strong European markets’ prioritising economic power over existing basketball fanbases, with a view towards launching a Europe-based project in 2026/2027.
It is however stressed that the plans remain uncertain at present, but claims that the NBA would want to introduce a franchise in England and specifically in Manchester, with sources stating that Manchester City could be the club urged to establish a basketball team.
A 10-team structure is reportedly being considered for NBA Europe with a ‘heavy emphasis’ on revenue generation through arenas and media rights, while the league could be fuelled by funds from the NBA’s upcoming media rights deal valued at approximately $76 billion.
Manchester City vastly engaged with its American fanbase during the last summer, and even unveiled the club’s brand new third kit to supporters at a special block party event organised by the club in the centre of New York City.
The area on 49th Street and 5th Avenue outside the official Puma flagship store was transformed into a custom-built court hosting live DJs, freestyle football demonstrations, basketball drills, dunk contests and various other activities.
Capturing the attention of those in attendance, Manchester City also drafted out the likes of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Pep Guardiola, who engaged themselves in basketball activities on the day.