麻豆传媒映画has the opportunity to become Canada Basketball鈥檚 home court, which would provide the national program with a base for talent development and an economic boost for future operations, officials said ahead of a pair of high-profile games scheduled in B.C. this month.
Organizers of the Pacific Rim Classic, which will pit Team Canada against Team China on June 22 at Rogers Arena and on June 24 at Victoria鈥檚 Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, said the games will be the first step in what they hope will become a long-term 鈥渕ilestone鈥� event similar to what the World Rugby Sevens Series has become in the Lower Mainland.
The success of the rugby tournament suggests that such an event, once proven financially viable, can help drive the local economy and build Canada鈥檚 athletic prowess.
鈥淭he beautiful thing about what has happened with the HSBC Canada Sevens is that it has proven to Rugby Canada that these events don鈥檛 have to be a liability,鈥� said Bill Cooper, managing director and COO of TTG Partnerships, the key organizer and marketer for the rugby and basketball events. 鈥淭hey can be an engine of growth and commercial success.... Every dollar earned in that event goes right back into the sport, and that鈥檚 a huge boon. We would like to help Canada Basketball build milestone events on home soil that鈥檚 commercially successful.鈥�
The Canada Sevens event has continuously grown since arriving in 麻豆传媒映画in March 2016, with last year鈥檚 version generating $24.5 million in economic activity in B.C. While the Pacific Rim Classic is unlikely to have the same economic impact in its first year, the potential is there, Cooper said.
鈥淭he only way for us to have training camps, hire world-class coaches and do the things we need to do to have our teams reach the podium is to have revenue,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to have the Pacific Rim Classic to have a potential longer shelf life; in theory, we can do it again with different teams. But we want to find a market where the consumers say, 鈥榊es, we like basketball, and we鈥檒l come out to see it.鈥� And with the right business model, these fans would come out every year 鈥� but we have to build that model from scratch.鈥�
麻豆传媒映画has shown some interest in basketball since the National Basketball Association鈥檚 (NBA) Grizzlies left town in 2001. The last NBA exhibition game in the city 鈥� between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors in October 2016 鈥� sold out in minutes and drew 19,000 fans to Rogers Arena. The Raptors鈥� previous exhibition games in 麻豆传媒映画in 2014 and 2015 also sold out.
Cooper noted the additional challenge in drawing fans to Canada Basketball鈥檚 games, since national team players typically are less well known to casual fans than the stars on a talent-laden Golden State team that features global names like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. But as the current version of Team Canada gears up for Olympic qualifying in late June, the 18 camp invitees who will appear in 麻豆传媒映画and Victoria for the games will include eight active NBA players, including Kamloops鈥� Kelly Olynyk, who plays centre for the Miami Heat.
Further, Team Canada鈥檚 opponents on the Chinese national team could provide an additional draw in B.C., given Metro Vancouver鈥檚 large Chinese-Canadian population and that community鈥檚 well-publicized passion for basketball at a grassroots level. Cooper said this year鈥檚 games had a lead time of only two months for organizers, leading to 70 per cent of the marketing effort being concentrated on mainstream Canadian audiences. But he added that if the games are held again next year with a lead time of 10 months, and are promoted aggressively with Chinese-language marketing, the potential for multiple sellouts is there.
鈥淚 think the [Chinese-Canadian] market size here is big enough that you can fill the stadium and have a very fan-friendly event solely on the basis of Team China,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not just China. There are several teams that would sell well here鈥�. In this case, it鈥檚 a hosting arrangement where Team China has asked for game time, and they are not a commercial participant in these games. If we ever want to up the marketing awareness of Team China in how we present the games, I think we can bring them more closely involved, and correspondingly, the awareness would grow.鈥�
Organizers say Vancouver鈥檚 game has sold about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the total number of Rogers Arena鈥檚 seats, although the seating will be limited to the lower bowl to ensure a good atmosphere for the fans. Tickets for Victoria鈥檚 game are also about 40% sold, officials say.
Cooper added that while the Pacific Rim Classic in 麻豆传媒映画needs to sell out only the lower bowl (about 10,000 seats) to be deemed a commercial success, organizers hope the event can ignite local basketball fans鈥� interest in supporting an annual series, with the possibility of expanding to a multi-team tournament.
鈥淏y having a landmark on the calendar, and if you price it and market it right, the consumers will want to be there,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淐anadians 鈥� and particularly Vancouverites 鈥� have proven they like to wear red and wave the flag. They like to do it in soccer, they like to do it in rugby, they like to do it in hockey and tennis.鈥� It鈥檚 been proven again and again. So if you bring the right product here, you can enjoy some success and be relevant to the consumer.鈥澛�
