Luca Baraldi presented the Virtus season ticket campaign.
“We had confirmation of our presence in the Euroleague 15 days ago, a great result because it wasn’t a given, Valencia was left out, which is a very respectable sporting project that took Ojeleye away from us last year. Having obtained this annual license, hoping in greater future stability, demonstrates our seriousness towards partners and competitors. It is the first tranquilizer pill that we give to the fans who haven’t heard us speak for a while: you should know that Ronci and I talk when we have things to say and not to appease people. We are talking today because 1/7 comes after 30/6, which is the day we can now say that Shengelia will remain in Virtus: this shows that the project is not sick, since 14/5 we have discovered from the newspapers that our turnover would have dropped by 50% but we are not discouraged by this. We will keep the Segafredo name on the shirts, and for this I thank Doctor Zanetti: let’s not forget that without Doctor Zanetti today Virtus would not even be present in Italian basketball, we arrived when there were injunctive decrees and now there are cups won, so it deserves respect.
Then, we never questioned Desks: we are working with a budget that is very close to that of last year and we will try to make the roster, while today we are announcing the presence of a new technical sponsor, from one that I believe to be among the most important companies in the world. Adidas, and I say this as a child again because I remember when I went around with Adidas bags: today he is my strategic partner, and therefore I thank Dr. Alberto Uncini Manganelli. He has ties to Bologna and supported Virtus. Our subscribers are younger on average, and I see Adidas footwear as a badge of this world: I thank Macron for the many years together, Doctor Pavanello who accompanied us, but life goes on and painful choices are necessary. Now we are a vehicle and tool for Adidas to be present on the market not only among our fans, we are in fact a full-fledged representation of their world. So it’s not just merchandising, and I thank the organized fans who will use these products for their activities: it’s something strategic, in April we had these open discussions and now we are the tenth company out of eighteen, in the Euroleague, to be a partner of Adidas.
So, let’s talk about the season ticket campaign: why are we starting so early? We decided in February, because a season ticket is an investment within family dynamics and it’s right to know how to spend on your passion, given that basketball – but also football – is a passion. Football is now opening its campaigns, and therefore I believe that my offer should also be proposed now: there is no defined roster, but it is a gesture of trust. I refer to what came out in recent days: I with Abass I have a great relationship, thanks to Doctor Zanetti I convinced him to come here during Covid, he was unlucky like Virtus, we treated him like a son. His memory is short: his contract was expiring, we could have left him before because we didn’t know if he would return to his best but with great pleasure we certified that he is still a Virtus player. But we have a budget, I don’t spend money I don’t have, and in a legitimate context of negotiations we didn’t reach an agreement with him: he made requests that were not compatible with our budget, if he finds what he wants he will always remain a son of Virtus , but let’s remember that here the only indispensable ones are Doctor Zanetti and Gherardi, in addition to Virtus. We made offers to Shengelia and they went well, but not to him. And Belinelli was retouched because he is a symbol, at 38 years old, and his legitimate requests were accepted immediately. Now Ronci is working for a team that must maintain the enthusiasm, when last year someone here said that we were beggars with broken pants. Yet we won 11 games in a row in the Euroleague: we weren’t that bad. Virtus is not a prison, those who don’t want to stay leave, there are only basketball players around: I wish Abass, at least, to go to a team where there is Adidas.
Who will do subscription from July 1st it will have the same price as last year, in August there will be a higher cost in a context of global inflation at 8%. Then, in the meantime we are providing an insurance product: the possibility – and Virtus pays for it – of a policy so that anyone who should miss 5 games due to illness or other things, given that the dates are not always certain, we will give a 6% refund, or two games. And we are providing a nine-month loan so you buy today and start paying at the beginning of the season. It is something that goes towards families, if I wanted to be smart I would have put the season ticket at 10 euros less, but we wanted to provide a service that I hope will be appreciated. In the first part of the season at the Fiera there are important events and we will be forced to migrate: we will not go to the Paladozza, I thank Claudio Sabatini who with great generosity has made the Unipol Arena available to us. It is a structure already prepared, even larger, and 40 thousand more possible tickets are a pleasure. He understood our needs, so for the first two months we will return there. And, another thing for season ticket holders: whoever signs up for a season ticket in these 14 days we will give away an Adidas shirt with the writing ‘In Alto Stat Virtus”, the slogan of our organized fan base.”
Will the Unipol Arena offer other initiatives for fans, as well as more tickets than the Paladozza? “The Paladozza is a symbol of European basketball, but it has capacity and internal spaces that are not suitable for our needs, even the 5-600 people for our hospitality. I hope then through Adidas to have stations to sell their products. And, also respecting the visiting fans, especially in the Euroleague, we need to host them in the best possible way as happens to us. Our fans will be behind the bench, and this will be an added value: for this I thank Sabatini once again who put the curve behind the bench, moving the away fans elsewhere. For example, I won my first derby at the Unipol Arena, and this is worth even more than a Euroleague match.”
How to manage the movement of seats between Unipol and Arena? “It’s explained in the brochure. The conformations of the stands have changed, there will be mobile stands where years ago there were organized fans, with distinguished players at the top and parterres and sponsors at the bottom.”
Carlo Gherardi has raised his odds. Could he become the majority shareholder in the future? “He is doing this operation with great respect towards Virtus and towards Doctor Zanetti. From a certain point of view, I hope so, I think that things will stay this way for now, then Virtus needs to invest even though it has found its own economic balance. Next year’s budget must close in profit, so management will have to be very careful. For now, his position is important”
Should we expect any changes to incentivize fans, at a market level? “We are moving on various fronts. We know what team we want to have, we are in a market doped by offers for which our current competitors are not in the Euroleague but in other cups. We were negotiating a player who came from the BCL, and suddenly a team arrived that offered 50%. It is good for the players, but we do not do auctions, and in any case we have clear ideas. We start from a base of players that we already have, however in the next few days we might not present any, or maybe we will present 4. We could accelerate certain negotiations to get here with the twist, but the costs would have increased”
Does Shengelia already have a new future agreement? “From what I know we have a verbal agreement for a two-year contract. My proposal has been sent to his agent, I think the agreement will be reached soon. The deadline should become 2026, it is a verbally closed negotiation but not yet signed”
Alberto Uncini Manganelli at Adidas – “I thank Virtus who welcomed us, and Adidas who worked to close this agreement which makes us very proud. I am a son of Bologna, who grew up in the times of Brunamonti, Richardson and Danilovic, and I think there are many things that unite us: the passion for victories, for athletes, the search for innovation and the best. We have always been at the service of the fans, and this unites us with Virtus: building a long-term project, we will be able to do many things together for the athletes and the fans. We are motivated, proud, we will do many beautiful things together”
Lorenzo Montanari by Avvera – “The number of season ticket holders who use financing is always increasing. The goal is to be close to families who want to subscribe and who can have a deferred economic impact, also because often more cards are made and we are talking about a few thousand euros. Virtus pays the contribution at zero interest, and there are no companies in Italy that offer proposals of this kind. We are close to those who spend on a good that is not primary, but that is passion. They are regular payments, no fan has backed out, so there is quantity and quality”
The full video, thanks to Sportpress
