Empty seats in Tbilisi don't look that bad – or do they? / News - Basketnews.com

The first day in Tbilisi was followed by Sergio Scariolo and Ergin Ataman's comments regarding the empty seats, so BasketNews takes a look whether the situation in Tbilisi arena was that bad.

Credit: FIBA, BasketNews Credit FIBA, BasketNews

EuroBasket 2022 in Tbilisi tipped off with three incredible games – Spain's offensive masterclass against Bulgaria and two nail-biting thrillers between Turkey and Montenegro and the host Georgia and Belgium.

Spain / Schedule

Spain Bulgaria114-87 Georgia SpainSat17:00 Spain BelgiumSun14:15 Montenegro SpainTue14:15 Turkey SpainWed11:30

However, there was another thing that drew eyes from the very first minute. It was the empty seats inside the Tbilisi arena.

Tbilisi arena officially can host up to 10 thousand people. According to the official report, the first game between Spain and Bulgaria was watched by 500 people. Meanwhile, Turkey vs. Montenegro held 1500 fans.

Both numbers look pretty generous from the eye test, but we'll get back to it later.

Bad look

Firstly, Sergio Scariolo made a light joke after a convincing victory.

Lorenzo Brownwas asked whether his relatives in the US watched the game, knowing that it was the EuroBasket debut for the 32-year-old guard.

"I made sure everybody would be watching the game. As you said, it's my first time playing on such a big stage, and everybody at home is proud of me. I made sure they have the right information, so they could watch the games," Brown answered.

That's where Scariolo stepped in.

"I'm sure there were more Lorenzo's relatives watching the game online than people in the arena," Scariolo said, making the whole press conference room laugh.

However, unlike Scariolo, Ergin Ataman didn't hold back.

"I always talk what I feel," as he says.

Turkey's and Anadolu Efes' head coach compared the atmosphere with junior tournaments.

"What's the difference between the U18 tournament and EuroBasket? There are many EuroLeague and NBA players, but the arena is empty.

Of course, against Georgia [it will be full arena]. Something has to change in the future. Are you happy with this atmosphere after watching the NBA, EuroLeague? It felt like U16, U18 tournament," Ataman was asking rhetorical questions.

And it's hard to disagree with the head coach. At moments it was almost sad for the arena announcer, who was trying everything to move the crowd inside the arena just a little bit.

Turkey clinched the victory only in the last possession, but it was nowhere near the noise that the Sinan Erdem arena makes. Yes, a small group of Turkish fans was trying their best, but that's not how you would imagine EuroBasket.

On the other hand, Spain's game tipped off at 15:30 local time. Thursday afternoon might not be the most appealing time for various reasons, and it's difficult to blame the scheduling. The reality is that you can't have all games on prime time.

Turkey began its duel at 18:15, which is slightly better, but even then, people are going from work, and in most cases, you'd need to put some effort to make it in time.

Besides, empty arenas during the first days are nothing new or shocking. It's common for host teams to attract the biggest number of spectators unless you have Group B, filled with megastars.

So, Ataman's disappointment is reasonable and understandable, but at the same time, it's understandable why we witnessed such numbers.

Ataman also argued that the current system, which is very similar to football, isn't working.

"Maybe in the future, we must find other solutions with the national teams. Football is played with this system, but we see full stadiums in every game. Here it's empty. Why are we here? For what? To enjoy and play basketball," Ataman explained.

Indeed, when you bring three NBA players (and not the fringe ones) alongside a few EuroLeague stars, it's normal to expect bigger attention. Not to mention that Montenegro also has its star players in Marko Simonovic and Bojan Dubljevic.

However, in football, World Cups and European championships are held in the summer. Many people plan their holiday, and it's much more common, easy, and convenient to make summer plans than in autumn.

Also, the harsh reality is that football is simply more popular. And by a mile. Naturally, football has the ability to attract much bigger crowds because the interest and appeal are thousand times bigger.

Moving international basketball competition to summer? It's likely that, in this case, the numbers for basketball would look even worse since the majority would still pick football over basketball.

Lit up Georgian crowd

Yet, the Tbilisi arena rose like a phoenix from the ashes when the local heroes came to court.

That's where we come back to the numbers and eye test. The official attendance in Georgia vs. Belgium game was 6000 people. So, a little bit more than half of the arena.

Again, few empty seats were, indeed, visible. But 4 thousand? Something is not adding up.

Anyway, the Georgian crowd was cheering and roaring almost every successful moment in both offense and defense. Starting from crazy Sandro Mamuelashvili's dunk to powerful Goga Bitadze's block.

And such an incredible atmosphere was maintained throughout almost all game, despite the fact that at one point, Georgia was trailing by 12 points (36-48) in the third quarter.

Of course, Georgia being the host and starting the game at 21:00 was also a huge boost, but again, it's a common practice. Regardless, the Georgian crowd received praise from both teams after the last game of the day.

Belgium's head coach Dario Gjergja made a well-thought comment on the topic.

"To be honest, I expected an even tougher atmosphere," Gjergja began. "We started very well, maybe because of that, the crowd wasn't immediately active. However, after that, I think the crowd really pushed them to come back into the game."

"Okay, we play in Georgia. Maybe top-level coaches expect a great crowd every time. I hope it will be more people in gyms because all games were very interesting. In the first game, Spain was amazing. The second and third games were decided in the last possessions or shots. [But at the same time] we cannot expect 6-7 thousand people in every game," Gjergja added.

In fact, Ataman began his whole point about empty seats by emphasizing his long-term experience in EuroLeague, so one could argue that Turkey's head coach might be a little spoiled. At the same time, it's nothing wrong with wanting the best.

However, Georgia's head coach Ilias Zouros also made a very valid point, highlighting that he didn't see other teams' fans.

"In our game, it was a full gym and great atmosphere. For sure, it's important to have a full gym in every game, but at the same time, I believe the fans must support all teams," Zouros argued. "Normally, in EuroBasket, we don't see only the domestic fans. Usually, every team has supporters and fans that come and watch the games."

"For example, when Turkey was drawn into our group, everyone expected many of their fans. We were expecting many Turkish people to support their team and be in the games. I hope to have a full gym in every game, but I cannot say anything more about it," added the Greek coach.

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