RedBird has submitted a binding offer to lead the Milanese franchise for the NBA Europe project, as revealed by a report, and there is great optimism overall.
A few months back, it emerged that Milan – more specifically RedBird – were keen on participating in the NBA Europe project. We have done a longer article on it, but in short terms, the NBA wants to create a strong league in Europe by partnering with football clubs and other strong brands.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, things are progressing as planned and RedBird has submitted a binding offer to host the Milanese franchise. It’s a big step as well as a commitment, considering just how high the buy-in is.
The ball is rolling
The deadline for the offers was on Monday, binding for the first time, after the previous rounds were non-binding. Gerry Cardinale and RedBird didn’t hesitate to submit their offer, teaming up with the basketball club Pallacanestro Varese.
RedBird and Pallacanestro Varese’s plan is to create a new team that won’t be called “AC Milan basketball”, as first thought, but rather a new and original name. Edoardo Bulgheroni, the former president of Pallacanestro Varese, considered creating the Lombardy Lakers in the 90s. Could it be a similar name? Possibly.
The NBA’s plan is to launch in the fall of 2027, and if it comes to fruition, several major European cities as well as several major football clubs would be involved.
Favourites over Inter (Oaktree)
Cardinale has always moved very quickly on this front, but one defining date stands out: January 19, 2026. That day, the NBA hosted a meeting in London with potential owners of the European franchises. 250 people attended.
Cardinale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his advisor, were invited by the NBA to speak publicly in front of the other potential partners in the project. This significant step testifies to the strength of the relationship with Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, who was a guest at the RedBird general meeting in New York in October.
Therefore, the RedBird project now has a better chance of coming to fruition than that of Oaktree, the fund that owns Inter.
San Donato stadium
The team would play the domestic league games in Varese and for the NBA Europe games, San Donato would be the venue. Gerry Cardinale wants to build a stadium there on the land purchased by Milan for the stadium project.
All things considered, as such, this is a highly ambitious and expensive plan: the cost of joining the NBA Europe is estimated at €250-€500m, while the cost of building an arena is estimated at €400m.
AC Milan w/ Stadium + NBA Team w/ Stadium + (potentially) ATP Milano = Gerry’s Golden Goose.
This is the true goal and return on investment for Gerry.
Put Kirovski and Ibrain charge. They did so well with the Futuro