NBA Growth in China
I must say that I am glad to see the NBA development work that is going on in China. David Stern is preparing basketball to survive this economic downturn and also to eventually become the world’s number one sport be getting in early in China.
Last year, the NBA formed a joint venture with AEG to design, market, and operate US-style arenas in China, “including an 18,000-seat entertainment center in Shanghai that will open within a year.” With the stimulus package in China paying for more local entertainment infrastructure, other Chinese cities are approaching the NBA with interest.
“The NBA opened its first two merchandise stores in Beijing last year, offering fans branded jerseys, basketballs, shoes and accessories. It plans to start 20 new shops in China this year and recently added one in Shanghai, Chen said. New stores will follow in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Changsha.”
Remember the name Tim Chen. Mr. Chen is NBA China’s CEO. He will be an important name to follow in the years to come.
“The interest is still very strong with the stimulus package, the interest did not go down,” Chen said in an interview in Beijing. “Our issue is how to get the joint venture to step up quickly to handle all these.”
Personally, from a very macro economic standpoint, I feel that China holds all of the cards. In a recession, those with cash in hand will weather the times the best. Capital becomes the all important commodity. China is the worlds lender and buys a majority of the US debt. They hold all the cash at the country level, thus they hold the cards in terms of the future of the worldwide economy.
Interest in basketball continues to grow in China, so the move is natural. But by aligning themselves with the fastest growing economy, the NBA is positioning itself to be in charge of the worlds basketball programs, not just the United States’. If they can create the pro level interest, the amatuer and youth levels will quickly fall into place. It is this Chinese youth market that Basketball.org needs to cater to in the years to come. Long term planning for this is already under way.
*image source: hoopsindia.com
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March 10th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I agree and great post. The NBA, along with shoe companies such as Nike and Reebok, are making huge inroads in China. IMO, the progress the NBA has made there will pay huge dividends in its future. Two great articles this morning on the state of the nba’s economy can be seen here:
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_090309.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3965440
March 10th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I love to hear stories about the development of international basketball. I have been following NBA-China relations for a while now, and think this has enormous potential as a venture.
I think you have to point to one source as the catalyst for China’s interest in the NBA – YAO MING. Many people underestimate and do not appreciate how Yao has contributed to the NBA expanding its continental borders. He has become the NBA’s global ambassador.
For the Chinese, Yao has proved to his countrymen that the Chinese can achieve success, and more importantly, blend into the NBA team dynamic without sacrificing their personality or playing style.
For the U.S., the success of Yao has given us a little taste of Chinese basketball and we are eager for more. GMs, scouts, fans are curious to see if Yao is China’s one hit wonder, or the country will continue to provide us NBA All-Stars into the future.
With a population over 1.4 billion and the popularity of the game growing, I think it’s safe to predict that China will become a world basketball power second to only the U.S.