Las Vegas' source for sports-business news.

 Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

Vinzenz Bichler noticed NBA star Steph Curry wears ankle braces, so Bichler hopes he can one day pitch the Golden State Warriors scoring ace on using an ankle support belt built into his sneaker that’s made by his company to prevent Curry from turning an ankle.

“Direct integration (of the belt in the sneaker) makes the best sense,” Bichler told LVSportsBiz.com Monday evening.

Bichler’s BetterGuards company from Berlin, Germany was among the five companies that presented slide-driven snapshots of their R & D progress at the NBA Summer League at Thomas & Mack Center. Here’s Bichler and his crew explaining the technology:

The league in January picked these five for its inaugural NBA Launchpad program to pilot emerging technologies into the basketball game.

In his post-presentation comments, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver loved the presentations. Here’s a slice of Silver’s comments:

The commissioner mused he didn’t have slides to offer and joked that he didn’t quite understand everything in the presentations. But then Silver turned serious when he explained the three Launchpad priorities for 2023, including soft tissue injury prevention.

“Nothing is more frustrating than injuries,” Silver told the audience invited to hear the five companies’ presentations.

From the NBA, here are the Launchpad starting five with summaries of their focus:

Bichler told LVSportsBiz.com that his company has spent $10 million on developing the product over the past six years, including building a production plant to crank out the product and handle all the work in-house.

He mentioned he’s been in discussions with sneaker companies about incorporating BetterGuards ankle belt technology into their shoe product, but Bichler said he could not disclose the sneaker companies.

After the Launchpad updates, the New York Knicks played the Portland Trail Blazers, featuring former NBA player/current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson in action as a referee in the second quarter.

Here are some pics of Jefferson in action:

Monday’s Day 5 had attendance of 11,003.

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

LVSportsBiz.com is proud to turn five years old in June 2022 and we are proud of our sports-business journalism, content and photos that more than 1 million readers have enjoyed and appreciated. We could use your help. We are asking for your donations of at least $10 to help keep LVSportsBiz.com delivering the type of journalism and content you have grown to like these past years. Thank you and keep reading LVSportsBiz.com.

Happy 5th Anniversary to LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz.com publisher Alan Snel talked with KLAS Channel 8 Sports Director Chris Maathuis about LVSportsBiz.com’s fifth anniversary on Game On! Vegas

LVSportsBiz.com covered the Stanley Cup Final in Denver and interviews sports-business leaders in Las Vegas like Raiders/Aces owner Mark Davis.

WATCHDOG journalism: Our story on the LVCVA public tourism promotion agency spending nearly $165,000 on attending the NFL Super Bowl in Los Angeles in February 2022.

COSTS to ATTEND Raiders and Golden Knights games. These stories are based on the research of Chicago-based Team Marketing Report.

RAIDERS: The average Raiders home ticket is $153.47 — the most expensive average ticket in the 32-team NFL.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS: The average Golden Knights home ticket is $124.09 — the fourth most expensive average ticket in the 32-team NHL.

LVSportsBiz.com Raiders stories to read:

— Raiders fans inside Allegiant Stadium for first time

— Many sides of Allegiant Stadium

— Raiders stadium — Las Vegas sports-business story of 2021

— Mark Davis’ close advisor and friend 

— On Raiders’ first game with fans at Allegiant Stadium

LVSportsBiz.com’s reader traffic: We eclipsed 1 million readers in May 2022. LVSportsBiz.com is the feisty news site that reports the convergence of sports, marketing, stadiums, business, development, sponsorships, fans and politics. Take advantage of our success by coming on board as an LVSportsBiz.com advertiser. Contact publisher Alan Snel at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

BETTER READ SNEL: LVSportsBiz.com’s Best Reads

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On COVID-19 and the VGK

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This news site is operated by Alan Snel, a veteran metro newspaper journalist who reports enterprise, analysis and breaking news on the business side of sports in Las Vegas.

LVSportsBiz.com is proud to turn five years old in June 2022 and we are proud of our sports-business journalism, content and photos that more than 1 million readers have enjoyed and appreciated. We could use your help. We are asking for your donations of at least $10 to help keep LVSportsBiz.com delivering the type of journalism and content you have grown to like these past years. Thank you and keep reading LVSportsBiz.com.

Bringing a watchful eye to Las Vegas's sports-business scene.

Got a sports business story idea? Contact Founder Alan Snel at asnel@lvsportsbiz.com.

Copyright © 2017 LVSportsBiz. All rights reserved.

LVSportsBiz.com is proud to turn five years old in June 2022 and we are proud of our sports-business journalism, content and photos that more than 1 million readers have enjoyed and appreciated. We could use your help. We are asking for your donations of at least $10 to help keep LVSportsBiz.com delivering the type of journalism and content you have grown to like these past years. Thank you and keep reading LVSportsBiz.com.