By Rory Carroll
Sept 30 (Reuters) - Global basketball league Project B said it will stage its inaugural tournament in Hangzhou, China, as it bets a traveling format that is distributed free on YouTube can expand the reach of the women's game.
The Hangzhou event, scheduled for January 19-24, 2027, will feature a six-team, five-on-five women's competition alongside entertainment and cultural programming, the Singapore-headquartered company said on Wednesday.
The league plans to begin its season with a draft
and training camp in Seoul from January 6-12 before moving to Hangzhou, the first stop in what it describes as a "global basketball grand prix" spanning Asia, Europe and eventually the Americas.
Other confirmed stops next year are Valencia, March 12–21, and Tokyo, March 26–April 4.
Project B was conceived in 2023 by tech executives Grady Burnett and Geoff Prentice with athletes Steve Young, Candace Parker, Sloane Stephens and Novak Djokovic among the investors and advisors. The league aims to combine high-level competition with city-specific experiences.
"There are massive amounts of basketball fans in China, and really all over the world," Burnett, Project B's co-founder and chief operating officer, told Reuters in an interview.
"Instead of trying to make everyone come to us, let's go and meet those fans where they are. Let's activate around those cities."
Hangzhou, known for its role as a technology and innovation hub and its scenic West Lake, will provide a backdrop for a festival format modeled in part on the citywide spectacle surrounding Formula One races, he said.
Chinese player Li Meng is set to join NBA great Russell Westbrook and chief basketball officer and WNBA champion Alana Beard for the announcement in Hangzhou.
Project B will launch with women's competition, a decision Burnett said reflects the rapid growth of women's basketball in viewership, attendance and investment.
In addition to Li, the league has also signed WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike, Azzi Fudd, Alyssa Thomas and Sophie Cunningham.
A men's program is in the works and Westbrook, who serves as co-founder and chief strategy officer, is helping build that side of the business, Burnett said.
The platform will seek to avoid conflicts with the WNBA and international basketball calendar, Burnett said, positioning itself as an additional opportunity for players to compete and grow their audiences globally.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
