Kevin Routledge – Leicester Riders Chairman – Hoopsfix Podcast #20

For episode 20 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Leicester Riders’ Chairman Kevin Routledge.

Routledge, who is also a former BBL Chairman, has been around the British game for four decades and has a lot of rare and valuable insight into the sport. Following on from last week’s episode with Newcastle Eagles’ Paul Blake, many people requested to hear from Routledge on the Riders’ facility and what impact it has had at the club.

We battled dodgy internet connection, but bear with it and it’ll always improve after a few minutes.

In this just short of an hour conversation, hear from Kevin on:

• The importance of collaboration between clubs for the growth of the sport
• What difference having a purpose built facility has made to the Leicester Riders
• Why facilities are one of the major keys for improving basketball
• Things that he hadn’t thought about on completion of their facility
• The business structure of the Riders
• The approximate annual turnover of the club in comparison to Newcastle Eagles
• Why he believes that the uncertainty surrounding the sport has been its biggest threat
• How far Leicester are from competing in Europe
• What competition we are likely to the Riders compete in
• The state of relationships between the various different stakeholders in the sport, including BE & BBL
• His thoughts on the departure of former BBF Chair Nick Humby less than a year into the role
• His beliefs on the difficulty of the funding model for the BBF
• Why improving coaching is the next step for the Riders to complete their development pathway
• Why he thinks the BBL is in the best shape it has been in for over a decade
• What the future holds and needs for British basketball
• And much, much more!

As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.

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