Žalgiris, the applicant, is planning a budget, but promises not to go into debt

P. Motiejūnas did not hide that he had made a mistake in planning the budget of the Kaunas team for this season, so the budget became deficit. However, the last successful seasons will not allow you to be in debt.

“I don’t feel firm this time, because we had everything counted a few years ago, but now we have less control. But like all clubs we try to get ahead.

We plan to have 10.6 million last season. budget, but we had 8.8 million euros. euros. Sponsor funds and advertising services: 3.2 million planned. and we had 1.3 million. euros.

When the season didn’t come to the end, we looked for ways to work for the sponsors. We try to keep all existing sponsors. We are happy because we feel your support and certainly most of the partners remain.

We lost a lot of money on tickets: 20 percent. fans backed subscription money, 57 percent. remained a credit to this season, with 23 percent of the team’s support. fans.

Of course, we not only had less income, but also less expenses, but in the end we had 800,000 from the interruption of the season. EUR less, which we cover with the income collected in previous seasons.

This year the budget has been reduced, we have redesigned it three times. We ask a bit, but we ask carefully. The budget is still in deficit, about 500 thousand. we need to find and collect.

In the worst case, we have accumulated funds from previous seasons, therefore we will cover the deficit and we do not plan to go into debt, ”said P. Motiejūnas.

The priority is the safety of the fans

Speaking about ways to raise revenue for this season, P. Motiejūnas said that the most important thing is to bring the fans back to the arena, and this requires that the fans in the arena feel safe.

“We cannot plan how many fans we will have in the arena. We used to plan a year in advance, now we plan a week in advance. Anyone who bought tickets in advance is now buying at night. 2.6 million euros of hanging tickets of the hair.

We want to be an example of how events can be organized inside the stadium while meeting all security requirements. We hope the fans appreciate it and feel it. We are looking forward to the first game of the Euroleague, seeing the reactions of the fans, how they react and what they want.

We will do our best to get them back. The most important thing is that they feel safe, ”said the head of the Kaunas club.

Speaking of various future scenarios, P. Motiejūnas stated that it would not be possible to have a planned budget after the end of the season, but the team aims to raise as much revenue as possible, which would be independent of the games played.

“If you are forbidden to play with the fans or you interrupt the season, there is no going back because contracts are signed with the players. The contracts do not include conditions for the amount of player contracts to change during the competition.

Continuing to invest heavily in licensed projects is one way to increase revenue, whether there is a coronavirus or not. In the next season, the growth of said income is planned: 240 thousand. EUR. “

The new coaching staff and players are evaluated positively, they do not change exactly

Mr. Motiejūnas revealed the objectives for the new season, and the modified Euroleague bonus system only modifies them slightly. Although the team will not receive bonuses for the number of victories, the manager believes that this change in the summer will not change the combativeness of the team.

“As far as the team’s goals are concerned, they have not changed for several years. Win xx Euroleague matches, win the King Mindaugas Cup and win the Lithuanian Championship. The bonus system is changing in the Euroleague, bonuses can be in some places, we will try to adapt to that.The Euroleague will allocate 80 percent for television transmissions and 20% – to place bonuses.

The style of the team must not change, we will go to each game as decisive. Probably that goal of achieving xx victories in the Euroleague seems ridiculous to us, but we do not want to get too high so that defeats do not delay the goal and we do not give up.

So far, we evaluate everything in the team in a positive way, it is a process, it will take time, we believe in the coaching staff and in the players. Everything is in our hands, it takes a lot and a lot of work to achieve what we want. The style of play is changing, but basketball players have to adapt and their combativeness remains. We have shielded our patience, supported and satisfied with what we see ”, said P. Motiejūnas.

Garino’s contract was renegotiated

The owner of Žalgiris revealed that the return of the debutant Patricis Garinas had to wait longer than expected before arriving in Lithuania, but in this situation, the Argentine himself agreed with different contract conditions and made it easier for the residents of Kaunas to wait.

“We knew that Garino would take a while, after the medical examination we knew that we would have to wait longer than expected, but that is why the new terms of the contract were agreed. It contributes to our wait.”

Motiejūnas added that some players could be loaned, but the team will need a lot of turnover this season.

“We are talking about hiring players. We are waiting for Garino to recover, but there will definitely be more than 12 of those players as we depend on a tight schedule. You need to give someone a break. If something gets infected, you need to remove it and replace it with something. If we only have 12 players, we reduce our chances of winning. “

At the end of the conference, P. Motiejūnas revealed that this year the savior “Žalgiris” plans to go on private flights only to the furthest trips in Vitoria and Valencia and when two Euroleague matches will be played per week. The next trips will be made on regular flights, and the club’s management will control whether it is not too difficult to do so.