Former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is on the opposite side to the Lewis family in a bidding war for a new London-based franchise.
The Lewis family unceremoniously sacked Daniel Levy a year ago, with the 64-year-old being asked to pack his bags after spending 24 years in charge of Spurs.
According to reports, current Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has dismantled the hierarchical structure Levy put in place, with the club going in a new direction both on and off the pitch.
It emerged a couple of months ago that Levy has his sights set on buying a basketball franchise in a new league, and that may now bring him head-to-head with his former employers.
Daniel Levy ready to battle Tottenham’s owners for new European Basketball League franchise
Sky News are now reporting that the Lewis family is also vying for control of the London franchise in the new European Basketball League, which has been launched by the NBA.
The Lewis family have joined forces with the Checketts family and the Eccles family to submit an offer to buy the London-based franchise.
The Checketts family has owned or invested in Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake and the NHL’s St Louis Blues, while the Eccles family helped develop sporting facilities and events connected to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
This three-leg consortium, which includes the Lewis family, has been pitted against Daniel Levy, who is involved in a consortium including Liberty Global and MSP Sports Capital, who are also trying to buy the franchise based out of the capital.
London franchise is the most highly prized of the 12 European Basketball League teams
Sky News reveal that out of the 12 new European Basketball League teams which will be auctioned, the London franchise has emerged as the most highly prized, beating out the franchises set to be based in Berlin, Milan, Munich, Paris and Rome.
Apart from the two consortia involving Levy and the Lewises, other offers for the London franchise have come from the Liberty Global consortium, the Reuben family, US technology billionaire Nikesh Arora and ABG, the owner of a stake in David Beckham’s consumer goods stable
The NBA hopes to generate billions by selling the rights to the teams, and the first transactions are expected to be completed over the coming weeks.