MANILA (Reuters): A group of investors are looking to create a basketball league that will span Asia and Europe to one day rival the NBA, with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund as a strategic partner and Swiss bank UBS as an adviser.
The Financial Times reported that the $5 billion basketball competition plans to create six men's teams and six women's teams that will compete in eight host cities.
Macau and Singapore are being considered as hosts while organisers are also looking to rope in European cities.
The league hopes to lure top players from around the world, especially Europe, and give them an alternative to the U.S. league.
Byron Deeter and venture capital firm Quiet Capital are among the investors, while the Financial Times said Maverick Carter, NBA great LeBron James's business partner, and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice were also on board.
"When it comes to global basketball, the opportunity is massive," Deeter said in a statement to the media. "There's a huge untapped market - millions of fans outside of the U.S. who are eager for us to grow the sport at the elite level."
Quiet Capital founder Lee Linden said they hope to deliver a global league to two billion fans.
Saudi events company Sela, owned by the country's sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Macau casino group Galaxy Entertainment will be strategic partners.
"We're thrilled to be the global operating partner for this elite basketball circuit and it marks a major milestone in our global expansion. This partnership is set to elevate the game," Sela said in a statement.
Neil Meyer, UBS's global co-head of media and telecom, said: "The thesis is simple: basketball is a global game and the world wants more of it."
Kevin Kelley, the chief operations officer at Galaxy Entertainment Group, said bringing "high-level basketball" to Macau would make the region a premier destination for tourism.
"We're thrilled to be strategic partners with this group of leaders. They're creating a series of unmissable entertainment experiences for fans and we're all in," Kelley said.
Singapore's Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth welcomed the opportunity to partner with the new league as a potential global headquarters, touting the city-state's "excellent infrastructure and our position as a key business and financial hub in Asia".
"We are at an early stage of exploring the terms of the arrangement and will only assess the issue of investment at the appropriate time," a ministry spokesperson said.
The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carter did not comment on the project.
PIF, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has its hands in several sports, including golf, soccer and boxing.
LIV Golf challenged the established order and created a split in the sport before they announced a shock merger with the PGA Tour.
The Saudi Pro League also grew rapidly when they poached soccer talents from Europe's top leagues with massive transfer fees and wages that many clubs and players could not turn down.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru and Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Pritha Sarkar and William Mallard) - Reuters
