Accustomed to being mistreated in the city's stadiums and gymnasiums, Rio fans who have been watching Flamengo's basketball team games in person in 2009 have been pleasantly surprised.
And not just because the club has one of the best squads in the country, which would already be a good reason to follow the team closely.
By replacing Tijuca Tênis Clube with Maracanãzinho, Flamengo's directors brought comfort and structure to their fans. Today, Flamengo matches feature DJs, dance performances (of questionable taste, it must be said), halftime entertainment, and active participation from the mascot duo.
Furthermore, an exclusive relationship network for the red-black basketball team was created, where it is possible to send suggestions to the Areias team (some are actually attended to) and interact with other fans.
These are some of the new developments brought by João Henrique Areias, Flamengo's new vice president of Olympic sports, with whom Draft Brasil had the opportunity to chat this Wednesday.
The leader, unlike most in the class, has an eminently entrepreneurial mindset. He's one of those people who sees the possibility of capitalizing on even a handshake.
And, if it is true that during Flamengo x Pinheiros Areias he probably didn't watch 2 minutes of what was happening on the court, it is also undeniable that the director didn't stop working for a single minute, whether to give interviews or to meet with businessmen present in the gym.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the high price of tickets (a family of 4 people can pay up to R$60,00 for entry), perhaps due to the lack of publicity in local newspapers or even due to the current discredit of Brazilian basketball, the fact is that the public has not been attending Maracanãzinho in good numbers, which is a shame.
Below are the main points covered in the Draft Brasil chat with João Henrique Areias:
Loterj Sponsorship
A meeting was held this afternoon, and the partnership is already considered a given. However, the agreement has not yet been formalized, and details are still being finalized.
This isn't a "shirt sponsorship." What's certain is that Flamengo would grant Loterj the right to relocate matches hosted by the team to other cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
It was also clarified that the agreement would be signed with a company providing services to Loterj, which, at least in theory, would allow the club to sign the contract without needing the necessary negative certificates (Loterj is a public agency of the state of Rio de Janeiro).
Petrobras
In fact, despite the logo still being printed on the basketball jersey, the club has not received any money from the company since the beginning of the year, precisely due to the lack of negative certificates.
According to Areias, this is a decision made by the club's president. In any case, the director stated that Flamengo will soon stop this "free advertising for Petrobras," replacing the logo on the jersey with the team's new website: Flabasquete.com.
future
Areias's initial agreement with Flamengo is to "present" a professional management model for Olympic sports within 90 days. After that, the club's presidency will decide whether to hire Areias and his team to implement the model.
Areias' proposal, which will be formally presented at a meeting on April 15, includes the autonomy of Olympic sports in relation to football, meaning that although they remain linked to the club, each sport would have different funding sources, including sponsors.
In the current model, as he himself admitted, Olympic sports are at the back of the line for any funding.
Londrina
Flamengo and the city of Londrina are seeking an agreement so that the postponed first-round match of the NBB, against Amigão/Andorinha/Unimed/Assis, can be held in the city in the interior of Paraná.
Areais' plan is for the game to take place on April 6, just 2 days before Amigão/Andorinha/Unimed/Assis and Flamengo face each other in the return leg in Assis, a city not far from Londrina.
In this case, the Londrina city government would only cover the expenses for the red-and-black tour, which also includes the match against GRSA/Itabom/Bauru on April 10th (in Bauru). The ticket revenue would go to the Londrina city government.
Maracanã
In principle, with the exception of the matches “requested” by Loterj and the one that can be held in Londrina, the comfortable gym will be maintained as Flamengo's home in the NBB.
The only scheduling issue would be if Flamengo qualified for the NBB finals. Maracanãzinho will host the "Holiday in Ice" at the same time.
It's unusual, but there's a possibility that Flamengo will play practically the entire NBB at Maracanãzinho and, precisely, in the finals, if they qualify, the team would have to play their games in a smaller gymnasium, like Miécimo da Silva.
The HSBC Arena, in principle, is ruled out. The new "owners" of the multi-sport facility, built with public funds for the 2007 Pan American Games, are reportedly charging R$150 to host two matches.
Shirts
Areias reported that approximately 2 Fla Basquete jerseys have already been sold in two weeks. With approximately 7 jerseys, the director stated that he pays one month's salary for the Flamengo squad.
The math in this case is simple: for each shirt sold (the cost is 39 reais), Flamengo receives 20 reais; selling 12 thousand shirts reaches the team's payroll.
In fact, in Wednesday's match, more than 50% of the approximately 400 red-black fans at Maracanãzinho were wearing the promotional shirt.
Low public
For Areias, the Rio native still needs to get into the habit of going to the gym to watch a basketball game, which could take some time.
The match time (19 pm) aims to escape competition with football and also attract young people to the gym.
organized cheering
When asked about the fact that members of organized fan groups enter the gym without paying for tickets, Areias stated that he had recently implemented a new system, according to which, to win 50 free passes for NBB matches, each organized fan group needs to buy a kit of 100 Flamengo promotional shirts.
The kit costs R$3, and each shirt sells for up to R$39,00. So, instead of simply handing out free tickets, Areias hopes to see some return from organized fan groups, who will still be able to profit from the sales.
Photo: Flabasquete.com