Chapter 743 - 668: So Much to Learn

Chapter 743: Chapter 668: So Much to Learn

"The basketball market is still too small, so hiring big-name stars isn’t a good idea."

Chen Yu shook his head, refusing.

Basketball did seem to be getting more attention in China, especially after Yao Ming joined the NBA.

But soccer was still the number one sport!

Soccer’s influence was just too massive.

This meant that even with basketball’s rising popularity, the bigger market was still in soccer.

A basketball club might invest several million a year, tops.

But what about soccer? You couldn’t even operate without twenty million a year.

That’s why soccer clubs had the financial backing to sign top-tier stars. But for basketball, who could you afford that was on the same level as someone like Batty?

Pippen?

You couldn’t even approach him without three to five million US dollars.

When it came to tangible profits, even Chen Yu’s reputation couldn’t work miracles.

If you brought him in for five million, that would be forty million RMB. How would you ever recoup that cost?

After hearing Chen Yu’s analysis, Chen Haitao was still reluctant to give up. "But the bigger the investment, the bigger the return."

Chen Yu shook his head in silence.

’A soccer stadium can hold sixty thousand people. How many can a basketball arena hold? Even if you sold tickets for a thousand RMB each, you’d never make your money back.’

’So it’s better to stick with players from the Development Alliance for now. First, make the games exciting to watch, and take it one step at a time. Once the market is truly established, getting star players will be much easier.’

As they were chatting, Yang Zuwu walked over.

The group was currently in Guang City, watching a soccer match.

The Tianhe Community Pharmaceutical Group Cup.

It was jointly organized by the Pioneer Club and the Sports Bureau, with the Pharmaceutical Group providing a sponsorship of 250,000.

Various neighborhoods and streets within the district had formed their own soccer teams to compete on weekends. The final championship prize was twenty thousand yuan.

Today was the final match.

The He Garden Team versus the Qianjin Street Team.

To show their support, Batty and Cannigia had even come to the event, each joining one of the teams to play.

"Dr. Chen, I’ve really learned something today," Yang Zuwu said, giving Chen Yu a thumbs-up.

Ever since the Pioneer Club was in its planning stages, Chen Yu had been organizing a fan association.

This very tournament was co-managed by that same fan association.

They operated under the Pioneer Club’s banner, going deep into the communities. While organizing teams and arranging training sessions, they were also subtly promoting the Pioneer Club.

In other words, Chen Yu was using a portion of his promotion budget on this—on cultivating his fan base.

Soccer is a team sport, and watching it is a collective activity.

Aside from the most hardcore fans, there wasn’t much fun in staying up late to watch a match alone or buying a single ticket to see it live.

Watching a game is all about the atmosphere.

It’s much more interesting to get a few friends together with some beer and snacks, watching and chatting as the game goes on.

And through these community tournaments, Chen Yu brought together casual fans from different neighborhoods who had never met. He used soccer as a way for them to connect and become friends.

Once they were part of this circle, their enthusiasm for watching games naturally grew.

They would often gather to watch matches, and on a whim, buy tickets to go support the team live.

This was likely a contributing factor to the consistently high attendance at Tianhe Sports Center.

And as a side effect, it also boosted merchandise sales.

’If you play soccer by yourself, who are you going to show off your authentic jersey and professional gear to?’

It’s only when you play together that this kind of gear has any meaning.

Add a little friendly competition, and you’d be too embarrassed to show up in a knockoff jersey.

Not to mention, Pioneer’s star players, bucking the trend of aloof domestic stars, frequently interacted with the fans.

Take this match, for example.

Yang Zuwu had specifically asked around. Many fans were so passionate that they had taken days off work just to play, all for the chance to make it to the finals and get on the field with Batty.

’In terms of cultivating a fan base, leveraging the value of his stars, and grasping fan psychology, there was so much he could learn from Chen Yu.’

"I’m just worried about the players getting injured, though," Yang Zuwu added.

The match was being held at a school’s stadium.

It was surrounded by a massive crowd, several layers deep.

No one was even in the stands; everyone wanted to crowd up front to get a closer look at Batty.

Chen Yu and the others were watching from high up in the bleachers.

Hearing Yang Zuwu’s concern, Chen Yu laughed. "If they get injured in a low-intensity amateur match, can you still call them professional players?"

Being a professional implies a certain level of expertise.

Barring freak accidents, players get injured because the intensity of the match is too high.

To score a goal, you have to run faster and execute more difficult maneuvers in an instant, which naturally increases the risk of injury.

"Besides, the fans love them too much. Why would they intentionally play rough? And even if a real accident happens, well, you’ve still got me."

’If they really get injured, I’ll just treat them.’

Yang Zuwu nodded and didn’t press the issue.

In the past two days of shadowing Chen Yu and observing the Pioneer Club, he had been greatly inspired.

’I have to learn this. I’ll copy it directly.’

’If Chen Yu can pull this off in Guang City, why can’t Guo’an do it in the Capital?’

’When it comes to the fan base, Guo’an’s is even stronger.’

Chen Yu paid no mind to what Yang Zuwu planned to do.

It was the same principle as always: Chen Yu wanted all the teams to do well and be profitable. If they were all making money, he could make even more.

"Oh, by the way, General Manager Chen."

Chen Haitao had something to discuss with him, and as it happened, Chen Yu was just about to look for him.

"My players are all lined up," Chen Yu said. "They should arrive in China by the end of the month. When they get here, if it’s convenient, do you think we could organize a friendly match to test the waters?"

There were plenty of players in the Development Alliance, and Chen Yu had already contacted a group of them.

And he had been selective.

Five players, just enough to form a starting lineup.

Chen Yu wanted to play a friendly against Hongyuan. Hongyuan had won two championships in two years, dominating the CBA. A match against them would be a good way to gauge the skill level of his foreign recruits and see if they’d be effective in the upcoming season.

"Appearance fees and everything are negotiable. We can hold the match at Tianhe Stadium or at our training gym."

In the future, Tianhe Stadium would serve as the home court for the Pioneer basketball club.

But Chen Yu had also specifically renovated a dedicated training gym.

’If the basketball club wasn’t going to rely on big-name stars, then it had to rely on skill, which made training crucial.’

"Of course, why not? I’d welcome it," said Chen Haitao.

’He was also eager to see just how good those Development Alliance players Chen Yu mentioned really were.’

’He’d heard they were all players who couldn’t make it into the NBA—washouts.’

"And don’t you dare mention anything about an appearance fee," Chen Haitao added. "We’re both in Yuehai, so close to each other. We’re sister teams. We’ll have to look out for each other in the future, and there will be plenty of opportunities to learn from one another."

He wouldn’t dare ask for an appearance fee.

Besides, they were in the East District and Chen Yu was in Tianhe, practically neighbors. He was also hoping to learn some of those advanced NBA management and training techniques from the United States from Chen Yu.

"Then it’s settled."

Chen Yu didn’t bother with pleasantries.

Chen Yu had selected five players from the Development Alliance, one for each position.

The biggest name among them was a small forward named Ansu Sasse.

He wasn’t an undrafted rookie. In ’98, he had been selected by the Mavericks with the first pick of the second round.

However, the Mavericks sent him straight down to the Development Alliance.

It wasn’t until 2001, after his rookie contract expired, that he got a chance to return to the NBA, signing a contract with the Supersonic.

He even played quite well for a while, appearing in over 40 games that season and averaging 3.5 points per game.

That was pretty decent; he wasn’t just a benchwarmer.

Last year, the Supersonic cut him anyway.

He then signed a one-year deal with the Warriors.

But he didn’t get much of a chance on a struggling team like the Warriors either and was cut again.

At only 29 years old, he was already out of a job in the league.

When Chen Yu offered him an annual salary of 300,000 US dollars, he accepted the offer to come to China without a moment’s hesitation.

With three children to support, the financial pressure was considerable.