FIBA Basketball

The Benetton Club Organization

The Benetton Club Organization
by Maurizio Gherardini

Former assistant coach and general manager of the Italian Division I team of Forl“, Maurizio Gherardini became Executive Director of the Benetton Treviso team in 1992 and was selected the Best Executive of the Division I Italian League in 2000. He is considered one of the top European basketball executives.

Peter Drucker, a social commentator and business philosopher, who is considered the father of modern business, stressed the importance of a "social link" in companies. This link is the great bond that should develop not only between a company and the people that work for it, but also the link that needs to be developed between the company and the people who live in the same town as the company. Benetton is a great believer in this important link.
Today, the Benetton Group is present in 120 countries around the world. Its core business is clothing. The Group produces over 100 million garments every year, 90 percent of which are manufactured in Europe. Its retail network of 5,000 stores around the world now generates an annual turnover of two billion euros in retail sales.
Despite its global spread, the Benetton Group has maintained close relations with its local origins, especially through cultural activities of the Fondazione Benetton Foundation Study and Research, and through its many sports programs in Treviso, a picturesque city of 90,000 located north of Venice. From its involvement in basketball, rugby, and volleyball, to its legendary victories in Formula One, Benetton's interpretation of sport has focused on athletic excellence, but, more importantly, on the social aspects of sharing and physical well-being. A primary mission of Benetton is to introduce thousands of young people to the world of sport each year

THE GHIRADA SPORTS COMPLEX
The creation of The Ghirada sports complex in 1985, three years after the Benetton family bought the Treviso basketball team , is the centerpiece of the Benetton philosophy. The Ghirada, is also home to the volleyball and rugby teams that Benetton also bought and supports.
Here is what the Ghirada offers for our athletes and to Treviso community: 7 rugby pitches, 3 full-court basketball courts, several outdoor basketball courts, a 6-hole practice golf course, a beach volleyball court, a fully-equipped fitness center, meeting hall, an equipment shop for the three sports teams, a 350-seat restaurant-pizzeria, and a library with thousands of volumes on basketball, volleyball, and rugby.
The Ghirada is a self-supporting facility, receiving monies through attendance fees and local sponsorship. The beauty of the complex is that it offers young athletes a chance to meet the top players from our teams, who practice at the complex during the season. In addition, each year we offer five scholarships to live and study at the complex if students agree to complete their graduation thesis on some aspect of sport.
Upwards of 1,400 people use the Ghirada each day. As part of our outreach to the Treviso community, we sponsor a project called "Grow Together With Sport in Treviso." This event, now in its twelfth season, brings over 4,000 children from Treviso and the surrounding area who play basketball, rugby, and volleyball to the Ghirada for a series of competitions. Practically every weekend, there is at least one sporting event going on that is part of this innovative program.

THE BASKETBALL TEAM ORGANIZATION
The management staff of Benetton Basket is quite simple. It consists of a President, a head coach, and a General Director, the position that I currently hold. Together, we discuss and make all the decisions about the many management, financial, and technical issues that arise during the season. We have always believed that it is very important to involve our head coach in all of our management decisions. He needs to know what our present financial situation is, how much money we have to invest in various players, and which players we should go after and try to add to our rosters. Over the years, we have been lucky to have coaches who really understand our philosophy.
Our organizational staff is comprised of me, along with five other full-time employees. In addition, we have part-time employees, who are in charge of the ticket office, school activities, and the mini-basketball program.
Making a profit is nice, but at Benetton our major goal is to break even financially. By mid season, the management group typically drafts a budget for the upcoming year and then meets with the team ownership to discuss the various needs of the team. We like to present possibly two-year financial projections, which certainly gives a much better picture of our overall needs.
We are certainly able to enjoy the games much more during the season when we have a talented team that fits within our budget. We don't overspend on players but rather look for those who can help us win. Within our budget, we also set aside money for signing new prospects, especially the young talented players. Over the years, some of these players have matured, done well for us, and have then gone on to have successful careers in the NBA.
We currently have a budget of 7.5 million euros, which is just about the size of the budget of a typical small to-medium sized Italian company. A part of our income comes from European TV rights fees and ticket sales. This makes up approximately 20 percent of our income. The largest part of our income is derived from our primary sponsorships with the Benetton Group, BNL, which is a major Italian bank, and Telecom, a leading Italian telecommunications company. In addition, we have exclusive suppliers, which are involved in all the events at The Ghirada.
While the Benetton sponsorship is sizeable, their return on their investment in sports is sizeable as well. Last season, our basketball team was on television for 101 hours in Italy, and 92 hours in various other parts of Europe. For Benetton, this translates to additional brand awareness that is worth between 7 and 8 million euros.
All contracts with the sponsors and official suppliers are handled by the marketing department of Verdesport, the Benetton subsidiary which controls the three different sports teams, manages all the sports facilities, and directs media relations. When it comes to any media event organized by Verdesport, the basketball team does all that it can to take part in the promotional and social activities.

SCOUTING AND YOUTH LEVEL TEAMS
The strength of our basketball team ultimately lies in the talent of our players. It is for that reason that we put such emphasis on scouting. Two members of our staff work almost exclusively following all the top Italian and European basketball events. In addition, they see as many major youth level games as they can during the year. The annual investment for our scouting services is 125,000 euros.
At Benetton, we are great believers in helping develop young local players and we invest in the youth level teams in our region of Italy. As part of our outreach to the regional schools, more than 11,000 students come to watch our games during the season. We currently support nine youth level teams with 230 players. In addition, there are 32 mini-basketball teams with nearly 1,800 players. Overseeing all of these teams and young players is a separate staff comprised of 15 coaches, one conditioning coach, a trainer, a female psychologist, and two managers. Our total annual investment in this youth sector comes to approximately 275,000 euros.
Basketball is more than just a game at Benetton. Sportsmanship plays a big role, too. During our games, we have a special "fan school" in one section of the arena that's set aside for 200 boys and girls. Professional entertainers instruct the youngsters in the intricacies of the game, teach them how to best enjoy the game, and become good fans. The staff of Benetton Basketball is also involved in organizing many events for the youngsters throughout the season. We have Christmas and Carnival parties, and special schools events with drawing and photography contests with basketball themes.
Basketball doesn't end at Benetton with our last game of the season. During the off-season we have an organized basketball camp that's open to everyone, as well as a special camp for big men, a coaches clinic, and a very popular summer league, with the presence of NBA, and European players and coaches. We look at each of these events as unique occasions to create new contacts, to get to know people from all over the world, and to initiate new business relationships. Again, as is the case with our top basketball team, we use the marketing and organizational staff of Verdesport to help us break even financially in these ventures.
Basketball is the most beautiful game in the world. At the base of every basketball organization there must be people with a great passion and enthusiasm for the work that they do. These people are not only helping to build a successful basketball team, but they're also creating a solid foundation upon which the futures of upcoming basketball players, coaches, referees, and team officials will also be built.