B League

Dynamic Reform of the B.League – B. Innovation


I played basketball when I was a student.
Although there were no NBA games broadcast in the media at the time, I was still very interested in NBA.
The NBA is the world’s top league, and my interest in it remains unchanged today.
Today, basketball can be enjoyed in Japan as the B.League.

And with the hosting of the basketball World Cup in Japan, basketball has become extremely popular.
I was very concerned that this popularity would be temporary.
This is because I had a selfish assumption that “basketball is a minor sport in Japan,” which was based on my own experience as a student.

Furthermore, I had heard some negative comments about the J.League, and because the B.League uses a J.League-style system, I was worried that the B.League would receive the same negative comments.

However, the B.League will implement a major reform at a popular time.
Since this will be a major change from the current J.League-style, it will be adopted starting in 2026 with a preparation period.

The following is an excerpt (quote) from B. Innovation of the B.League.
B. Innovation (https://www.bleague.jp/new-bleague/interview/)  [ Translated by this site ]

[ Beginning with the 2026-27 season, the B.League will move to an expansion system, eliminating the current system of promotion and relegation based on a single year’s competition results. The conditions for entry into the new B1 will be to meet these three key licensing criteria: sales of 1.2 billion yen, attendance of 4,000 people, and an arena with a capacity of 5,000 people or more with suites. So why are these three factors important as licensing criteria? We asked Chairman Shinji Shimada why these structural reforms are necessary. ]

Entry criteria will be continuous club management capability
In the future plan, entry into the new B1, B2, and B3 will be based on a judging of certain business activities, not on competition results. The first such judging will be in October 2024. There are two reasons why this is two years in advance.

[ Attraction structure and securing revenue ]
One is that from the 2026-27 season onward, the new B1 will host games every day and we want fans to be able to enjoy basketball every day. Currently, games are held on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays. The current schedule is a burden on the players, limits the opportunities for fans to watch the games, and limits the media coverage. In order for the B.League to energize the people of Japan and the local community, it is necessary to hold the event every day, and in order to do so, the schedule needs to be decided before a major event is decided upon.

[ Public Arenas ]
The second perspective is the opposite of the first thing. Basketball is one of the softs uses of the arena, and it is only used for about 30 days of the year. In order to make effective use of the new arena and maximize its value, we need to attract and fill the remaining 335 days with events that will enrich the local community. In this case, we need to provide a certain grace period, and we would like to schedule the basketball games two years in advance so that the remaining open days can be filled with other events. For this reason, we will judge two years in advance. For the new B2 and B3, we are considering scheduling games a year in advance the same as the current license, so the first judging will be done a year in advance the same as before.

[ Profitable professional sports club teams ]
In order to energize Japan through basketball, all club teams must be energized. This desire is our premise. How many employees and what is the average annual salary needed for a club to be in a truly energizing situation? After taking various factors into account and estimating, we need to reach at least 1.2 billion yen in sales to have the human resources that would energize the community.

B. Innovation (https://www.bleague.jp/new-bleague/interview/)

It’s amazing. It’s amazing.
I feel that Shimada-san, the current chairman of the B.League, is a true businessman.
The B.League has clearly demonstrated that it will become a “professional sports organization of profitable club teams” instead of a “professional sports organization that relies on taxes to pay its deficit balance.

And this is the timing to implement the B. Reforms. While it is still popular, the B. League will make society widely aware that it is a profitable, independent, and viable professional sport.
Currently, many club teams in the B. League are unable to achieve sales of 1.2 billion yen. However, this provision is intended to allow club teams to manage financially healthy.
Of course, some club teams will be able to improve their profitability by enhancing their ability to attract customers and brands in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
In addition, there will be a system that allows club teams that do not reach the entry criteria to enter by meeting the new criteria for the Expansion type.

Of particular note is the “elimination of the system of promotion and demotion based on a single year’s competition results. This is a very significant reform compared to other criteria.
This promotion and relegation system gave all club teams a chance to participate in the top B1 League.
B.Innovation has been criticized, and much of the reason may be the ”elimination of the promotion and demotion system.”

There may be an argument that there is no need to eliminate the promotion and relegation system because the new B.League has sales criteria, customer attraction criteria, and arena criteria.
However, the “ Promotion and Relegation System” is a system that conflicts with the new criteria for expansion-type club management, which targets profitable club management.
For club teams that meet the new criteria, it will be easier for sponsors to make business investments, and for local governments to build and renovate arenas due to their profitability and public nature.

Finally, although not mentioned here, the B.League will also begin a draft system in 2026.
This system will be implemented up to the second round, but it will be an equal opportunity system for club teams. This is also a system that conflicts with the promotion and relegation system.

We are looking forward to the growth of the B.League.


Reference: B.LEAGUE [ B.LEAGUE INNOVATION ] (2024/08/27)
https://www.bleague.jp/new-bleague/renewal/

Reference: B.LEAGUE [ B.Innovation INTERVIEW ] (2024/08/27)
https://www.bleague.jp/new-bleague/interview


Thanks.