Thursday morning, during the press conference for this exhibition game called Duel de la LECB, the commissioner and CEO of the circuit, Mike Morreale, and the chief operating officer of the sports and entertainment division of Quebecor, Martin Tremblay, were seated on the same podium.
The average budget of teams on the circuit, which has been in place for five years and includes the Montreal Alliance, is around $2 million per year and the basketball players, mainly former NCAA elite programs , the G-League (NBA Development League) and a few former NBA players, earn an average of $1,000 per game.
5,000 tickets sold
Already 5,000 tickets at $24.75 have found takers for Saturday’s game and the organizers believe they can reach the figure of 6,000 by then. According to Mike Morreale, the average ticket price for regular league games is $30.
“To sustain a team that plays 10 local games a year from May to August, we can hope to have 4,000 people if it’s a Wednesday, but maybe 6,000, 7,000 or 8,000 people if it’s weekend,” declared Martin Tremblay during the question period. Mr Morreale added that ideally one could expect crowds of 5,000 per game.
This year, however, the Winnipeg Sea Bears are the only one of the LECB’s ten teams to average more than 5,000 fans per game, with the Edmonton Stingers second with 3,859 fans per game and the Alliance de Montréal attracting an average of 2,879 basketball fans to its local games. Half of the teams attract less than 2,000 people per game.
That being said, Morreale doesn’t mind that at all. “In fact, a team needs 3,000 people per game to break even. Depending on the size of the arena, it can vary between 3,500 and 7,000, so here it would probably be a little more than 3,000. But the success of a team in our league comes from the combination of the sale of tickets, local sponsorships and broadcasting rights,” explains the commissioner.
Kebs and Pioneers
Martin Tremblay clarified that he was not overly worried about the failure of the adventure of the Quebec Kebs, who played in three different circuits from 2006 to 2012. “For the first time, Canada has a league basketball professional who is serious. She has been there for five years. “When you see that a team like the Sea Bears has (businessman and lawyer) David Asper as its owner, it shows that it’s serious,” he said, adding that his company also leads a market study on the team project which could see the light of day in 2024.
Morreale adds for his part that the attempt of the businessman Cyrille Poitevineau Millin to install in Quebec a team of the Basketball Super League (BSL), the Pioneers, does not prevent him from sleeping either.
“This project is not serious at all. It’s a league in the United States, and if there are Canadian teams, it will only be to play a game once in a while. They don’t even have a place to play their matches and besides, it’s a winter league so it doesn’t conflict with us,” he briefly commented.
Excited gamers
Still, the four Quebec players who will participate in Saturday’s Duel, point guard Alain Louis and wingers Nathan Cayo and Elijah Ifejeh of the Montreal Alliance and center Jordy Tshimanga of the Calgary Surge, are eager to perform. in front of the Quebec City crowd.
“For me, it will be a first game in Quebec and I think it would be a great project to have an LECB team here. We offer a high caliber of play, the guys here are all basketball pros,” said Tshimanga, who will play for the Western Conference team.
Cayo speaks for his part of an honor to play in his province. “Quebec is a sports city. We attended a Laval University Rouge et Or game and it was incredible. Having a rivalry with Quebec would really add something for us, players of the Alliance”, explains the one who admits having experienced “a lot of ups and a lot of downs” with Montreal this season.
“Our team has had a lot of injuries, but it’s an experience we’ve had that will help me continue in my professional career. If I chose the LECB rather than going to Europe or the United States, it’s because it’s a growing league. Now even players in Europe are considering the league as an option,” continues the man who shone with the Richmond University Spiders from 2017 to 2022.
As for Alain Louis, a product of the Thetford Mines Basketball Academy, he also believes that Quebec City is a perfect city to host a LECB team. “People are involved and our caliber is good with several G-League guys. And the guys from the G-League, these are NBA guys who haven’t had their opportunity yet,” he philosophizes.
Louis feels that he has progressed as a player this season and adds that the Alliance organization has also progressed. “They took a big ‘step’ this year, they have a better idea of where they want to go,” he concludes.
2023-08-24 20:50:36
#Quebec #basketball #test #bench
