Coronavirus leaves LNBP with fewer teams and no Women's League, for now

Eduardo López

The havoc the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in the sports industry is overwhelming. Tournaments suspended indefinitely, canceled competitions with no return point, appointments postponed until the end of the year. Until the Olympic Games and the European Cup of Nations, multinationals turned into mega-sporting events, have chosen to postpone their editions from 2020 to 2021. The sports marketing agency Two Circles describes the brutality of the economic impact of the health crisis in the field : Only 26,425 sports events will be held out of the 48,803 scheduled at the beginning of the year, which will mean a loss of $ 61 billion in cumulative income generated for holders of organization rights.

The tsunami, from which no sports entity is spared, has also hit the National Professional Basketball League, which is in the planning stage of its next season. The new course, which corresponds to the year of the twentieth anniversary of the circuit, was planned to occupy the last semester of 2020: the start would be in summer and the champion would be consecrated in the early stages of December. The coronavirus has paralyzed the machinery. The season will not only be shortened, but will have a smaller team of teams than the previous edition (2019-2020); the reigning champions, Soles de Mexicali, will suffer a 40% drop in their income; and the Women's League, a project that employers have planned for almost two years, has already been canceled. AS consulted the LNBP command voices, who confess the seriousness of the blow, break down their contingency plan, and evaluate the options for the immediate future.

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@Moskabrown

The first effects: fewer teams and games

The pandemic will halt the exponential growth that LNBP has experienced in recent years. The 2019-2020 season reached 30 million people, according to data shared by the league in the official presentation of the finals that confronted Soles de Mexicali and Fuerza Regia, thanks to their alliances with different media on different platforms. For example, a button: the zone finals (Soles vs. Aguacateros, Fuerza Regia vs. Mineros) brought together 800,000 spectators in various supports, including Facebook. In that appearance, Sergio Ganem revealed that the revenues of the SiSNova LNBP League grew 150% during the course. The virtuous circle, however, came to an end.

"There is a lot of uncertainty. (The crisis) reached us by ending the season, but it is also directly affecting us in the planning for the next one. The teams have more difficult to find alliances. This contingency came at a very bad time, on our crest in four years of development, ” says Alonso Izaguirre, LNBP general commissioner, by telephone. “We have to be very careful with the issue of economic resources; the teams have to rethink their strategy for the coming years and we must find tools to help them, "he said. Sergio Ganem, president of the circuit and of Fuerza Regia, considers that the economic recovery will be a challenge: “We cannot think that, when the quarantine is over, everything will return to normal. This is going to take quite a few months. "

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Courtesy: Royal Force

The first (obligatory) decision will be to shorten the season. Instead of starting somewhere between mid-July and early August, it will, in theory, run through September. For now. "We definitely won't be out in July," Izaguirre said. "The common denominator of team owners and presidents is a short season, perhaps three months, with everything and playoffs," confirms Ganem. The design of the new campaign will be known until mid-May, when the LNBP will hold the owners' meeting, which was originally scheduled for April. It is there where the clubs will present their financial statements and, based on them, will ratify or decline their participation in the next edition. However, the commissioner's outlook is low. "Being optimistic, we would come out with 12 teams", confesses Izaguirre, which would imply, as a minimum, a reduction of seven competitors compared to the 2019-2020 season . This scenario, qualifies the commissioner, is only an estimate, since no institution has expressly communicated its intentions. The May congress, which could be held electronically, will provide certainty. Based on the agreements reached at the meeting, the LNBP will speed up the publication of the final calendar in early June.

This contingency came at a very bad time, on our crest in four years of development

One of the teams whose appearance is in doubt is Ángeles de Puebla, last classified in the West Zone last year, with a very poor record of two wins and 34 losses. His management has been fragmented, and team employees revealed to AS that they have received no news of the senior positions since December, when their participation in the regular season ended. This media tried repeatedly to contact Aldo Rodríguez, the club's current president, to share what the real situation facing the people of Puebla is; however, no response was obtained. Izaguirre and Ganem claim to have no information on the future of the franchise.

The teams that participated in the 2019-2020 season of the LNBP @Moskabrown

Champions will also suffer

With the victory against Fuerza Regia 77-66 in the seventh game of the 2019-2020 finals, held at the PSF Auditorium on February 19, the Soles de Mexicali were crowned for the fourth time as monarchs of the LNBP. However, the crisis does not understand status. The most successful club in Mexican basketball will also bear the blow. The 'Cachanillas', one of the highest budgets of the LNBP, have several open fronts. As the league has not yet defined its starting date, the institution faces difficulties in negotiating player contracts. So far, only five maintain their agreements with the club; however, the situation could lead the board to adjust the clauses of each contract based on the variables to be defined: matches on the calendar, length of the season and the state in which the club's coffers remain. "The intention is not to renegotiate, but we could get to that if we needed to," endorses Mario Flores, general manager of the border. Flores' intention is to keep at least 80% of the roster that won the champion trophy.

We cannot think that when the quarantine is over, everything will return to normal. This is going to take quite a few months

The renewal of Iván Déniz, the coach who has guided the Soles to three of their four conquests, is also on hiatus. “By contract we are your first option, but we cannot make you an offer for now. The talks are very advanced ", reaffirms Flores. However, the manager's fear is that the uncertainty will stop the negotiations for a longer time: "If we wait for everything to calm down, sports planning will be later and we will have less possibilities of closing the team we want," says Flores, eager to replicate the success of the previous year and consolidate the 'cachanilla' dynasty in Mexican professional basketball. The team was looking to start the preseason no later than July 15.

The inability to plan the sports area for the upcoming season stems from budget uncertainty. "We cannot estimate the resources we will need. We do not know anything. Or how many teams are going to be. Who will they be. That will define how much we are going to invest in travel, because we are by far the club that spends the most on transfers . We also do not know the opportunities that our sponsors will offer us. This point is the most risky ”, Flores is sincere. The budget that Soles de Mexicali uses depends on each season; varies by roster, calendar, bonuses, and marketing agreements. Spending on sports payroll ranges between 10 and 15 million pesos; the total operating budget for a year can range from 20 to 40 MDP, without generating profit. The Suns' revenue, however, could plummet by up to 40% in the coming season. The figure could be less, but the reduction is imminent, according to the calculations of the directive. “At least it will be 25%. Perhaps we will start in 'negative', but we will be able to get ahead with planning and, from there, with a solid and contending team as always ”, ditch Flores.

One of the lifeguards is the sale of fertilizers. It is one of the central strategies to capture income in the face of the crisis. For a minimum of $ 100 (in general area), the fan can reserve their place in the PSF Auditorium during the next season. Starting May 1, all seats in the venue will be released, without exception. The most expensive section price ($ 1,000) corresponds to the 'central preferred', 'lateral preferred' and 'board preferred' zones. According to the last update, at the end of April 24, the club had managed to sell 225 season tickets. In the 2019-2020 season the figure reached 860, which corresponds to 18% of the Auditorium capacity; the record is 950 and dates back two years. For three weeks, the team has enabled a digital dating system through Skype, Google Hangout and Facetime so that their followers can acquire memberships remotely and with personalized attention. Another raft is the digital store. launched two weeks ago, offering everything from key chains and pens to vests and caps. “We are working from the first day that the season ended. We start with financial planning and that gives us peace of mind that we are going to participate. We need the support of fans, businessmen, the community, " wishes Flores.

The Women's League, another victim

Since 2018 the LNBP has been probing the project to start a Women's League. In 2019, the rumors gave way to statements 'on the record' that predicted the birth of the circuit in a period not exceeding two years. At a press conference on the eve of the All-Star Game of the most recent campaign, Sergio Ganem made the foundation of the championship official; It would start activities in May and would provide an boost to the development of women's basketball in the country , in addition to guaranteeing equal pay. The LNBP Women's League is one more victim of COVID-19. “We were very advanced on that project. We are going to have to leave it until next year. We were planning to go out with at least eight teams this season, ”says Izaguirre. The participating clubs were not yet confirmed, but Fuerza Regia, Aguacateros de Michoacán, Dorados de Chihuahua, Libertadores de Querétaro and Abejas de León were some of the interested parties . For Soles de Mexicali, the price of income was not acceptable, given its geographical condition and financial concerns: “We want to wait until it is more solid. We greatly increased the cost of the league, because all trips are by air. We want to participate for when it is viable for everyone ”, explained Flores.

Sergio Ganem assures that the @LNBPoficial Women's League will have pay equity compared to the men's.

(📹 @ Fmercu9) pic.twitter.com/BwxcnUkneN

Sergio Ganem laments the bad luck that the league debut has suffered: “I do not know why the times we have been about to carry out that project, for some reason, it falls or is postponed. Something always happens to us . ” Commissioner Izaguirre assures that the clubs had not advanced until the hiring of the players. Ganem, however, discovers that there are those who have already made "commitments", which, sentence, do not imply any legal obligation: "It is a cause of force majeure. It is impossible to do a season right now. " The health authorities would not have allowed the celebration of the matches and the clubs would have added a greater economic decline.

The LNBP emergency plan

The challenge facing the SiSNova LNBP League in the next three months is immeasurable. The main objective is to guarantee the financial solvency of the circuit. At first glance, there is already an obstacle. Some state governments, such as Baja California Sur and Coahuila, weigh using Soles and Laguneros gyms as medical units to alleviate the saturation of the public health system due to COVID-19. AS was able to investigate that the PSF Auditorium could run such a fate if the pandemic worsens in Mexicali, one of the 10 municipalities with the highest number of infections in the country. This would involve a variable to consider in the construction of the calendar. “There are situations that are out of our control. Let's see who is able to participate. This can change from one moment to the next ”, says Ganem.

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Coronavirus leaves LNBP with fewer teams and no Women's League, for now Courtesy: Fuerza Regia

The LNBP will not release funds to financially support the clubs that are still attached to it today. However, in the coming days, the group will announce a protection plan for arbitrators, commissioners and other personnel that depends directly on the industry. The support will favor them for 90 days and it is not yet defined whether it will be in kind or in resource. “We are in the last phase of planning the model. We want the league to provide aid directly, and not to be channeled through the teams, because it will take longer , " emphasizes Ganem. Capital will flow thanks to the strategic alliances that the LNBP maintains with LiNing, Molten and SiSNova, which are not in danger despite the crisis: “They are commercial strategies that were established in the medium and long term. Viability and continuity are not modified. We are going to have to adjust some activities during the year, but we are perfectly armored ”, the LNBP president alleviates.

In addition, the league is preparing its final foray into national open television. “We already have a couple of options that we are negotiating. Put the product of the LNBP nationwide for the next season. I look forward to announcing it this year, ”yearns Ganem. The names of the broadcasters are protected by confidentiality contracts. The maneuver would multiply the value of the transmission rights, a concept that does not generate income for the league. This is the post-coronavirus emergency plan. Before that, the LNBP will know in May who is in a position to face the anniversary edition. "That teams that can maintain a standard without jeopardizing their assets participate, because it is not about being forced to participate, either," concludes Izaguirre.

The weeks to come will be momentous for the highest category of Mexican basketball.

Extra data from the LNBP 2020

- An LNBP team operates, on average, with a budget of between 15 and 18 million pesos
- Los Soles de Mexicali do not receive financial compensation for broadcasting their matches locally
- The project of a new stadium for Fuerza Regia is stopped