THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
London 2012. The Olympic Games. The perfect opportunity to create a lasting legacy for many sports that otherwise don’t get the recognition and funding required to move forward and build on what was truly an inspirational time.
One of those sports, one that has been crying out for more funding for so long in the UK, is Basketball. A sport that is easy to pick up and follow, but more importantly, affordable. A ball, a hoop, a decent-sized patch of ground, and all ages can play. Expand on that and court space is needed, indoor or outdoors. Friends are made, communities built. It sounds simplistic, but that is what the game of basketball brings.
The London Lions are the only professional team in the nation's capital, and their current home is the Copper Box Arena, a site that was built for the Olympics in 2012 to host the Handball and Modern Pentathlon. Basketball at the Games was played in another building, a temporary structure that was within sight of the Copper Box but always intended to be dismantled after the Games.
The Lions have seen great success in their current home, and only last year reached the latter stages of the Euro Cup, the second most prestigious tournament in Europe. When full, it can be a loud and vibrant atmosphere – Basketball fans are a passionate breed – laying a foundation for more to get involved.
The Arena has hosted a wide and varied number of sports and activities for the local community. So a legacy of sorts is there and will remain. But what fans of the game here in the United Kingdom dream of is a purpose-built arena for their team, a real home where professional teams can feel at home and grow, with first-class facilities.
The only one so far is in Newcastle, the Vetu Motors Arena. With a capacity of 3,500 for basketball, it acts as home to the men’s and women's teams and can be used for events for local businesses and the community. It was a landmark moment in 2019 when it opened, and now London is following suit, and not a moment too soon, many will say.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has always supported the growth of sports, his keenness helped make the NFL-ready Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a reality, and he has vowed to help the regeneration of the Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium. Now, in a big statement, he has backed the building of a new home for the London Lions purely for the basketball teams, to be used as a hub for the sport moving forward.
The Lions have made it public that a state-of-the-art arena will be built, bringing a world-class facility to the capital. Their bold words in their statement said: “This cutting-edge venue will provide a premier training and game-day environment for both our men's and women's teams, as well as providing a hub for youth programs, solidifying our place at the heart of the city's sports culture.”
To add further weight, the Lions' CEO Lenz Balan said. "We want to create a world-class home for elite hoops and a place where the community can come together."
Mayor Khan is pledging full support: “London is now the sporting capital of the world, and I am thrilled to support the London Lions as they pursue their ambitious vision to establish a state-of-the-art basketball facility in our city.”
The Lions are enjoying another good season and top the current standings heading into the latter part of the season. After some turbulent times in the last off-season, the Lions and the League as a whole are still going strong, and even though there has been no European play this season, Tomas Okmanas, co-founder of the Tesonent group which owns the club, was clearly looking forward to the new arena and what it will bring. He said, “The appetite to compete – and win – against the best in Europe. Such ambitions and goals require a dedicated top-tier venue. Today we are announcing our intention to build a fitting new home for the Lions to usher in a bright new era for the club and the city."
Talking to City AM, Okmanas continued, “The basketball taskforce will come up with available sites [another Khan initiative], and then we will have a clear vision – what, how big, where it’s going to be. I’d say from 10,000 to 15,000 [capacity], maybe a maximum 20,000. That would be the range that we will be looking to build. I think when we get all the necessary permits and the land, it will take us from three to five years to build it. We’re not sure of the budget because of the size and scale and where it’s going to be, but we expect it’s going to be hundreds of millions of pounds. We don’t ask for any financial commitment from the mayor’s office. We’re just looking to get the land and all the necessary permits for this to happen, and I will do all the financial investments.”
The larger capacity will enable a successful Lions team to enter the top tier tournament in Europe, the EuroLeague, and perhaps host The Final Four in that competition, as well as be a potential host to rival the O2 Arena for the end of season Championship games, as well as any future NBA Games.
This has been a long time coming, after so much was promised over a decade ago, but finally there is a real buzz of what could be, and a facility to rival many teams, and be the envy of others.
Full details about where and when this exciting new project have yet to be fully disclosed, but further news will be coming in the next few months. The American will follow the story.
