In a basketball stadium, like in Las Vegas: mayors frown, but evaluations are different

The name is like a transitional patio.

Cbet, Uniclub Casino – Juventus, Šiauliai-7bet, Nevėžis-Optibet, Labas Gas.

This is not a list of companies licensed by the Gaming Supervision Service, but a list of LKL participants. We created almost half of the official team names, renewed.

It is true that the name “Cbet” was already famous last season by the Prienai Club. In order not to confuse basketball fans, Jonava’s newcomer team will now be announced.

Prieniškės transferred the title of main sponsor to Labas Gas, a company dedicated to the design and installation of the gas pipeline.

Three other LKL residents – Šiauliai, Utena Juventus and Kėdainiai Nevėžis – added business suffixes advertising betting companies to their traditional names.

Illustrative and the official name of the league itself: Betsafe-LKL.

Clubs like Panevėžys “Lietkabelis” or Pasvalys “Pienovaigždės”, whose names have long coincided with long-term main sponsors managed by the same owners, already seem quite common in this company.

Only Kaunas “Žalgiris”, Vilnius “Rytas”, Klaipėda “Neptūnas” and Alytus “Dzūkija” remain untranslatable.

Delphi According to the information, the opportunity to break the name of an LKL participant costs from 50 to 100 thousand. depending on the weight of the hip and the form of such invasion.

For example, the people of Prieniai, who used to change their “passport details” every season, from “Rūdupis” and “Vytautas” to “Tonybet”, “Skycop” and “Cbet”, do not bother to give the sponsor the name of the team.

Other clubs try to maintain continuity “across the board.”

A few years ago, Rytas, which had suffered from a severe financial shortage, also considered supplementing its budget in this way.

In 2017, when the new team members decided to ditch the last symbolic link with the Lietuvos Rytas media group, it was intended to add the name of another sponsor to the new team name.

The then president of Ryto, Antanas Guoga, negotiated with the Asian financial technology company The NEM.io Foundation a long-term agreement, according to which the club would earn 0.5 million euros annually. euros. However, that amount was too high for the company and the plans remained plans.

The support on the tree does not grow.

In recent years, it is no coincidence that basketball club names have been competed primarily by betting intermediaries.

On the one hand, in this way, they effectively reach their target audience: sports fans. In addition, the recent tightening of legal regulations, which increasingly restricts traditional advertising methods, is forcing a search for new forms.

For their part, the clubs focus on betting on the budgets they have to face each year.

But is this really a situation where there are no losers?

No matter how difficult it is for clubs to get their finances in order, the main sponsor is not the most important for any of them.

Absolutely all LKL teams depend more economically on the municipalities.

So the logical question is, what do the ‘bosses’ of the latter think about the fact that teams that receive grants worth hundreds of thousands of euros publicly identify with the bettors?

For example, Šiauliai donates 350 thousand LTL to a representative basketball club each year. euros.

Mayor of the City of the Sun Artūras Visockas Delphi He stated that he did not object to Šiauliai choosing the lesser of the two evils.

“The name was decided by the club’s board; apparently money is needed. I preferred the old name more, but it costs a lot to change it. And the local Šiauliai business, unfortunately, rarely sponsors sports.

Probably no team would want to lose their name, but everyone loses more or less because they are forced to. I did not interfere in that process, although if you ask me personally, the new name of the team does not please me very much. I think the usual name “Šiauliai” will continue to be sung in the sand, because inertia and tradition will prevail. What you will do, life is life. I have no right to criticize without knowing how long the negotiations with these sponsors have taken place and how far they have gone. After all, nobody shares money for nothing, “said A. Visockas.

Unpleasant surprises

At that time, his Kėdainiai colleague Valentinas Tamulis was more strict.

The district municipality has allocated 200 thousand LTL to the Nevėžis club this year. euros. But team management extended the historic name last year without consulting the biggest sponsor.

“It just came to our notice then. When it comes to talking about next year’s municipal budget, there will be an opportunity to talk to team leaders as it comes out here. And the results are not what they promised … So the talk will be serious “, – Delphi said the mayor of Kedainiai.

He did not hide his discontent that the club did not report not only on the name, but also on the change of head coach.

Gediminas Petrauskas will now lead Marius Kiltinavičius’ team, which finished last season.

“The money from the municipality is considerable, the results are unsatisfactory, they do not buy back that support. The plans were drawn much more beautiful. It was also strange to learn from the local press that the technician had already been replaced. I don’t think that should be the case. We will have to meet with the leaders of the club in the next month, and then we will talk about the name of the team, “said V. Tamulis.

From Naphthen-R. SG-SC to Elga-Master Idea-SC Dubysa

In European basketball, the commercial names of the teams are not uncommon: in Italy, Spain the entry of sponsors is accepted on their business card.

In the Euroleague next season, the Crveza Zvezda team from Belgrade (Serbia) will promote the telecommunications company MTS, Istanbul Fenerbahce (Turkey) – consumer electronics manufacturer Beko, Vilerbano ASVEL (France) – information technology company LDLC, Tel Aviv Maccabi (Israel)) – game developer Playtika, Athens Panathinaikos (Greece) – operator of OPAP games.

In the past, the main sponsors of Euroleague clubs have been industrial waste recyclers, private medical institutions, tire or ceramic tile manufacturers, and shoemakers and pastry chefs.

Some teams have both traditional and commercial names and are used selectively for target markets. For example, the Olimpia club in Milan is known in Italy only by its historical name, at that time it was presented in Europe as AX Armani, advertising the club owner’s fashion items abroad.

In Lithuanian basketball, second division teams in the past were confused by strange names.

Clubs such as Nafta-Uni-Laivite, SSK-Nord / LB Draudimas, Puntukas-Jarimpeksas, Albara Lagiva, SK Triobet Malsta, SK Triobet Malsta, played at different times in the National Basketball League (NKL). Alytus / Alramsta ”,“ Naglis-Adakris ”,“ Bremena Karšuva ”,“ KK Radviliškis-Juodeliai ”,“ Š.Marčiulionis KA-Twomenas ”,“ Jazz-Diremta ”.

It is true that in recent years the names of the NKL teams have become much clearer, so that the tournament table is less reminiscent of a bus station notice board.

Only three teams with double names will start next season: Klaipėda Neptūnas-Akvaservis, Marijampolė Sūduva-Mantinga and Vilnius Perlas Energija.

And most of the unrivaled prose will continue to be “Delikatesas” by Joniškis, who has been fighting on the basketball courts for several years for the sake of the hams and sausages of the same name.

At that time, Panevėžys “Naftėnas-R. Clubs Sargūnas SG-SC ”and Alytus RKL-GUT.LT.

There is no shortage of similar letter puzzles in other sports. For example, Alytus “Varsa-Stronglasas” and Panevėžys “SC-RSSG-Grifas” are fighting in the Lithuanian men’s handball championship, and the Kaunas district is fighting for the women. Cascados-HC Garliavos SM.

In the past, Eastcon AG Vilnius College, Keturi vėjai-LangVirus or VikingMalt / Jaukurai tried to win the hearts of handmade fans.

Šiauliai “Gintra-Strektė-Universitetas”, who has been invincible for decades in the Lithuanian women’s field hockey championship, probably decided to take a speech therapy exam and is now called “Ginstrektė-ŠSG”.

Among male names, the length of Širvintos SK “Baltic Champs – Ježvitas” and Vilnius SŽK “Žuvėdra-SM Tauras-Lõuna meteoras” is measured.

Another Šiauliai linguistic serpentine is the city’s representative Elga-Master Idea-SC Dubysa volleyball team.

However, probably no one is equal to the team that played in the country’s third capacity division of soccer in 2006: Naujoji Akmenė “Akmenės SC-Šiauliai-3”. Decipher this da Vinci geo code yourself.

For those clubs that mistake the name for a notebook, it remains to wish to take an example from the Ukmergė “Current Area” team competing in the Lithuanian beach soccer championship. Or “Catastrophes” of Vilnius playing in the Sunday soccer league; it is obvious that these boys see life much more easily.