The Press conference of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Secretary General Andreas Zagklis on the last day (August 11th) of the Paris Olympics opened the stage for the next tournament in Los Angeles (US) after a roaring success in France.
‘eurohoops.net’ stated that as Zagklis confirmed in the 2024 Olympics a new record of attendance was registered breaking the one from Atlanta (US) in 1996.
Mies (Switzerland)-based the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, organizes international competitions, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees.
The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, is an international multisport event that took place from July 24th-August 11th, 2024 in France with the Opening Ceremony having taken place on July 26th.
The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 14th-30th, 2028 in the United States.
‘eurohoops.net’ further stated that back in 1996, almost 1.07 million fans attended a total of 92 games. The Paris Games has touched the 1.08 million mark in 52 games.
Playing in a 27,000-seat arena in Lille (City in Northern France) proved to be a game changer as the average attendance in the group phase both for men and women was 22,000 fans while in the 2016 Rio Olympics (Brazil) the number was just 3,000 per average in the group phase.
“The numbers are staggering and show the growth of our sport, both on the men’s and women’s side,” Zagklis said including ratings, Google search numbers and engagement on social media.
Intuit Dome
Zagklis also praised the Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, and the venue selected as the site for basketball at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The 18,000-capacity Intuit Dome is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California (US) South of the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium. It is the home venue of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Said Zagklis, “This is an arena that has been designed for the fans, for the experience of the fans. So, I expect excellent images and top-level experience for our players.”
Zagklis also confirmed that the talks between the FIBA and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are constant noting that the NBA and the FIBA relationship were never stronger than it is today.
New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
Explained Zagklis, “It is natural for us to have discussions on a new project on broadening our cooperation in either new continents or other areas of our sport recognizing that what one does best is commercializing basketball at the very top and what the other does best – that’s us – is developing the sport across 212 countries.”
He explained that however there’s nothing specific on the table yet, rather than the effort in Europe “to unite the family and grow the sport”.
Setting the Tone
‘fiba.basketball’ stated that the crowds at Lille’s Pierre Mauroy Stadium set the tone impressively during the opening nine days of the games. Fans showed their national colors with pride giving their heroes reasons to fight. A total of 876,686 spectators attended the 36 men’s and women’s games at the converted football arena in Lille filling 91.8 percent of its capacity.
The 50,000-capacity Stade Pierre-Mauroy, also known as the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy for sponsorship reasons, is a multiuse retractable roof stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, Lille, in Northern France which opened in August 2012.
‘fiba.basketball’ further stated that the 18 men’s games drew 466,053 fans averaging 25,983 per game which is 94.6 percent of the 27,360-seat capacity. The 18 women’s games attracted 410,633 fans averaging 22,813 per game, or 83.4 percent of the capacity.
This event set a new standard for the women’s game with a record for a women’s basketball game in Europe. This Group Phase has eclipsed anything that has come before in Europe. The record for a women’s game now stands at 27,193 and was achieved during the very last game in Lille between host nation France and Australia.
Paris’ 20,300-capacity Bercy Arena then took the baton from Lille, comfortably securing the record with a 13,000-seat capacity. Every game at Bercy was played with a minimum attendance of between 11,852 and 12,454 for a total of 201,633.
Additionally, the seven days of action at the 3×3 basketball tournament at the Place de la Concorde were sold out, with 4,000 spectators per session, resulting in a total attendance of 72,000. This was the first time 3×3 could play at the Olympics in front of a live attendance.
The Place de la Concorde is transformed into a gigantic Olympic stadium for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games! For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the Place de la Concorde in Paris is becoming a unique venue dedicated to urban sports.
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