New Basketball League To Build 103,000-Square-Foot Arena Facility In Atlantic Station

The upstart league will pay high school-age competitors a minimum salary of $100,000
Rendering of OTE's new Atlantic Station facility
Rendering: Official

Upstart basketball league Overtime Elite will open a new 103,000-square-foot arena facility in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station neighborhood, it said Wednesday in an announcement naming the city as its home.

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The venue, which Overtime Elite (OTE) said it expects to open in September, will house a new model of amateur basketball player development. The league will play each player at least $100,000, also providing year-round training, an academic program, and other opportunities, it said this week.

The company said it chose Atlanta after visiting eight other potential home cities across the United States.

“If we could construct a city that would be the perfect home for Overtime Elite, it would look just like Atlanta,” Overtime Elite Commissioner and President Aaron Ryan said in a statement.

“The city’s storied basketball history, diverse population, vibrant business community and rich culture make Atlanta a special place. OTE is looking forward to being an active contributor to the community.”

The facility itself will take shape just south of 17th and Market Streets, according to a league spokesperson.

OTE said it expects the project will create as many as 400 construction jobs, at least 30 percent of which will be held by minorities, and be built in time for the league’s September debut.

Its parent company, Overtime, is a media company founded in 2016 and backed by a group of celebrities ranging from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to Hawks Point Guard Trae Young.

Along with earning a minimum six-figure salary, OTE players will also be offered equity in Overtime and “participate in revenue from use of their name, image and likeness, including through sales of custom jerseys, trading cards, video games and (non-fungible tokens),” the company said in its release.

“This exciting announcement underscores that Atlanta is still a great place to do business. Overtime Elite will bring several well-paying jobs to our city, generate millions of dollars in economic impact and expand mentorship and programming opportunities for our young people,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement.

“We are pleased that Overtime Elite has chosen Atlanta to be its permanent home, and we look forward to welcoming the next generation of basketball stars to our city.”

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Photo: Kevin Ollie | OTE leadership in Atlanta. From left to right: OTE Commissioner and President Aaron Ryan, Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Brandon Williams, Head of Talent and Recruiting Kali Franklin, and Head Coach and Director of Player Development Kevin Ollie.
Dean Boerner

Dean Boerner

Dean Boerner is a California-based writer previously with Bisnow and the San Francisco Business Times. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and business from Saint Mary's College of California, where he also served as the editor-in-chief of The Collegian, the school's campus newspaper. Before that, he spent two years as the publication's sports editor, and he remains a committed fan, for better or worse, of his Sacramento Kings, San Francisco Giants, and Saint Mary's Gaels.
Dean Boerner

Dean Boerner

Dean Boerner is a California-based writer previously with Bisnow and the San Francisco Business Times. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and business from Saint Mary's College of California, where he also served as the editor-in-chief of The Collegian, the school's campus newspaper. Before that, he spent two years as the publication's sports editor, and he remains a committed fan, for better or worse, of his Sacramento Kings, San Francisco Giants, and Saint Mary's Gaels.

3 Responses

  1. This a great concept and it done internationally with club ball. I wonder if they are aware that receiving an income could affect a student athletes ability to receive a scholarship to a college. This could be counter productive in the US.

  2. @Nakia Stanford. The concept is being created for the elite players who basically are one and done in college. Players like Cam Reddish, Zion Williams, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, Ja’ Morant, and the like. These players would have gone straight to the NBA draft if the NCAA rule didn’t force them to do a year in college. A school like this creates an opportunity for a select group of players who feel that they have to go to college or do a year abroad in order to be eligible to be drafted. This cuts out the middle man. If we look at the NCAA tournament last year the successful teams were teams that had a mix of upperclassmen that stayed with a program.

    You asked/stated that it could be counter-productive; I can see your argument there but these players will receive that money and it will go towards college if they don’t make it on a professional team. As a former professional athlete who played abroad and saw how this worked. Europe and Asia have been producing pros for years. If you look at some of the top European players who started on club teams and were receiving a salary, they then went to top European teams and then to the NBA. Skipping college isn’t for everyone but let’s not forget those who became icons by doing so, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, this situation isn’t for everyone but there is a niche for a select group of individuals.

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