EuroLeague Owners Meet at Lake Como Amid NBA Interest

The quiet shores of Lake Como are about to host one of the most consequential meetings in European basketball’s modern era.

According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, a select group of EuroLeague club owners will convene on October 5 at the famed Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, a venue more accustomed to heads of state and captains of industry than to jump shots and pick‑and‑rolls. When the EuroLeague’s owners meet, it is not routine. It usually means the future of the competition is on the table.

This time, it is.

At the heart of the agenda, per the same report, lies a potential offer from the NBA to acquire the EuroLeague, alongside discussions about expansion and a full transition to a franchise model. That combination of topics cuts straight to the identity of the competition: who owns it, how it grows, and what kind of league it wants to be in the next decade.

A rare summit of owners

EuroLeague governance typically runs through the stakeholders’ board, where the league’s main clubs and partners shape policy and strategy. Full owner gatherings are rare. They are reserved for moments when the questions are bigger than scheduling tweaks or minor commercial deals.

This one fits that description.

An NBA move into formal ownership of the EuroLeague would mark a dramatic shift in the relationship between the world’s two leading basketball competitions. The EuroLeague has long prided itself on its independence and its European club culture. A franchise system, by contrast, would lock in participants, stabilise revenues, and push the league closer to the North American model that underpins the NBA.

For some clubs, that sounds like security and growth. For others, it sounds like a break from the traditional pyramid that connects domestic leagues, European qualification, and the dream of playing on the continent’s biggest stage.

Those tensions will be in the room at Villa d’Este, even if they never reach a microphone.

Milan targets a Final Four homecoming

While the owners weigh the long-term structure of the league, another battle is playing out over one of its showpiece events.

La Gazzetta dello Sport also reports that Milan has entered the race to host the 2030 EuroLeague Final Four, proposing the new Unipol Dome in the Santa Giulia district as the stage. It would be a return, and a symbolic one.

Milan last welcomed the Final Four in 2014, when underdogs Maccabi Tel Aviv stunned a heavily favoured Real Madrid side to lift the trophy in one of the competition’s most memorable upsets. That weekend still lingers in EuroLeague folklore; bringing the event back to the city, this time in a modern arena, would tie the league’s future to one of its defining past moments.

Valencia, though, is not stepping aside. The Spanish club is also in the frame, with the recently opened Roig Arena positioning itself as another major player in the Final Four rotation. Current indications from the Italian report suggest Valencia is strongly placed to land the 2028 edition, giving the new venue a marquee event early in its life cycle.

The map is already taking shape. The 2027 and 2029 Final Fours are locked in as part of an agreement with Abu Dhabi, with both events set for the United Arab Emirates. That leaves 2030 as a key prize for Milan’s bid and a chance to reassert Italy’s role on the EuroLeague’s biggest weekend.

A crossroads on the water

So, on October 5, in a lakeside villa known for elegance and discretion, EuroLeague owners will sit down with two very different horizons in front of them.

One concerns the calendar: where the Final Four goes, which arenas become new landmarks, which cities get to write the next chapters after Milan 2014, Abu Dhabi 2027, and whatever comes in between.

The other concerns the soul of the league: whether to embrace an NBA-backed, franchise-driven future or to hold the line on a model that has defined European club basketball for decades.

Lake Como will provide the postcard backdrop. The decisions made inside Villa d’Este will decide how European basketball looks — and who truly controls it — by the time that 2030 Final Four tips off.