Angelopoulos: “The naming will help us become even more competitive”

Her “strong man”. KAE AEK gave an interview to “ERA Sport” and spoke about the naming of the Ano Liosion indoor stadium as “Sunel Arena”.

THE Makis Angelopoulos he emphasized that with this move, the team will be able to cover the operating income of the stadium, while it will be able to become even more competitive in competitions within and outside the borders.

What he said in detail:

For the sake of naming: “We have been forced in the context of unfair competition for the last 20 years, with the existence of the EuroLeague, to try to generate expenses from various sources. One of them is the source of the naming. The other important one is what we are preparing with the theme parks, a family destination, unique in Attica. We are trying to find the revenue ourselves so that we can be more competitive, until at some point the regulations change and we can play on a level playing field. Someone tells you that in the last five years only AEK has won some titles in Greece. So someone who has won some titles is telling you. This match is really uneven. Perhaps through the salary cap, as we saw in the EuroLeague regulations, something will change. The same teams that participate in Greece on unequal terms and with unfair competition were the protagonists in the issue of the salary cap. So the same teams that in Greece see and reap the unfair competition were at the front of the fight for the salary cap. So at some point this must come to the Greek league. A championship that everyone can claim will have better television contracts and fill the stadiums. It will be interesting.”



For the stadium sponsorship deal: “Four years ago we were granted the closed Ano Liosia, now Sunel Arena, it had extremely high operating costs. All investments have been made by KAE AEK, there has been no help from any state agency. We have ensured that the operating costs will be financed through this sponsorship. Operating costs are indeed around 800,000-850,000 euros per year, maybe more. So, in essence, this is what we wanted to ensure. So that frees up resources for the team so we can strengthen the team. That’s why it happened.”



On whether AEK wants to go public: “We had a proposal recently from the London Stock Exchange. It’s not time yet. Investments must be completed. It is something for which we have a proposal for AEK to be the first basketball team in the world to attempt it. As long as the company is where it needs to be financially, it makes sense. To reward those people who throughout the years support this effort with their support, with their voice, with their love. In other words, they should now be able to have shares in a specific entity, which will also have a specific exchangeable value, because you understand that we cannot give shares to the world in a company that is heavily loss-making. For this to happen, it should be a healthy, profitable company and it should certainly have some development prospects. As I said, I cover the damages. When we are in a position where we are profitable, we will also tell people to participate, because we cannot recommend it when they can lose their money. It’s not in my character.”



For the transfer of the center: “We are in discussions. I think they will be finished sometime, maybe today – tomorrow. We are close somewhere.”