Latvian Basketball Profit: Latest Update

The Latvian Basketball Association (LBS) has not yet revealed how much it earned from hosting this year’s European Championship, but rough calculations show that the amount could be impressive.

LBS Secretary General Kaspars Tsipruss told the Saeima’s Sports Subcommittee this week that the championship brought additional funds of 52.3 million euros to the national economy, according to a study conducted according to an internationally recognized methodology.

Holding the draw, competition and the General Assembly of the International Basketball Federation cost a total of 18.3 million euros. Of these, ten million were allocated by the state, 1.6 million by the Riga City Council. About 15.5 million euros returned to the state budget directly, that is, in paid taxes.

To the question of “Latvijas Avīzes”, how much did LBS earn from hosting the championship, the organization replied that it is not yet known precisely: “The approved budget year of Eurobasket 2025″ will end on December 31, when, according to the contract, reports on the use of funding must be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science. It is provisionally estimated that the income from economic activity reaches 13.6 million euros (advertising contracts, ticket income, compensation invoices), but specific profit data will be known when all expenses have been counted.” If expenses of 18.3 million are deducted from the total 25.2 million euros obtained, it turns out that LBS obtained 6.9 million.

These calculations may not be complete, but it can be predicted that the dry balance for the organization from hosting the championship is significant. It is planned to direct the profit to the development of youth basketball. “Already in autumn, we started implementing the support program for LBS members – each of our members had the opportunity to apply for their project up to ten thousand euros, and it must be based on sustainability – infrastructure development and youth support. 51 projects were submitted. Also, thanks to “Eurobasket 2025″, it will be possible to continue increasing the budgets of the youth national teams and make investments in the improvement of the Excellence Program,” said LBS. A more precise explanation will follow.

In 2015, Riga hosted one European Championship group, LBS earning 667 thousand euros. Most of it was invested in the design of the Team Sports Hall, put into operation a year ago.