Hapoel Jerusalem continued to make its mark on Israeli basketball as new owner Matan Adelson added a pair of critical people to the club’s staff. Former Israeli star Gal Mekel joined the team as a basketball consultant and minority shareholder while Alon Kremer takes over as the Chief Executive Officer after a decade in the United States.

Mekel, who was the country’s second representative in the NBA arrives at the Reds after having retired as an active player following the 2023 Eurobasket and will look to make an impact on the management side of the coin. Kremer returns to Israel following a 3.5 year stint with the NFL in ticketing analytics, a number of years at Caesars Entertainment Corporation and a short spell at MLS’s New England Revolution.

Adelson without question wants to build a solid base as he begins to build the organization in his vision which will no doubt be similar to that of a North American sports franchise.

“I met Gal when he was playing with the Dallas Mavericks and they were in Los Angeles,” Adelson began as he introduced Mekel. “We rekindled our friendship when I came to Israel and it was clear that early on that he resonated with my vision and had insightful ideas as to how to achieve my goals which instilled great confidence in me that he would bring tremendous value to this team. Gal has proven to be a great asset to the basketball world and he was one of the few people who encouraged me to take this journey and not to back down.”

“Alon returns to Israel and brings with him a wealth of sports management experience gained during his tenure at the NFL,” Adelson continued. “Alon spearheaded key initiatives and projects in ticketing, fan engagements and sponsorships supporting all 32 NFL teams. He demonstrated commitment to success within a diverse and dynamic sports ecosystem. Alon’s expertise and driving innovation optimizing club performance makes him a perfect fit to springboard Hapoel’s growth and navigate Hapoel’s future. I’m confident that under Alon’s guidance our club will soar to new heights, embracing innovation and redefining success in many ways that will ignite the spirit of our fans and of our community.”

Mekel, who not only played in the NBA, had a lengthy and fruitful career domestically as well as in Europe having won numerous personal and team awards and will bring many years of his on court experience to Hapoel Jerusalem, a team that he ironically never had the chance to play for.

“I’m very honored and excited about this moment and it’s a privilege to join Hapoel Jerusalem a club that has a huge fan base and has a great tradition. I’m very happy that I will be able to work with Matan and these amazing people in the organization,” Mekel began.

“I really love the fact that a team like Hapoel Jerusalem is in a positon where the sky’s the limit with an arena, fans and a tradition, the base is very good. What speaks to me most is the fact that I had been in the NBA and many top level European teams and now I have a chance to move to a club that is also first class organization. There were times that I was almost part of the club but it was a situation where they approached me and I didn’t want or I wanted to be a part of the team and it just couldn’t happen. I’m happy that the circle is now closed and maybe it was just meant to be in this role and not as a player.”

Kremer grew up in Israel and was a basketball fan from day one. After serving in the Israeli Navy, the Haifa native attended the Technion and then Harvard Business School where he earned an MBA in Business Administration, Management and Operations. At the NFL, Kremer was a key resource in finding solutions to be able to have fans in the stadiums during COVID-19 pandemic while also helping teams with attendance issues afterwards.

“I’m deeply grateful that Matan has entrusted me with this role and we share the same passion and vision to turn Hapoel into the best club in Europe. I am confident that we will lead Hapoel to a new and exciting era,” Kremer stated.

“I learnt from the top sports minds and I knew that the day would come where I would return to Israel and come back to help take the sports in this country to the next level. Here I am today at Hapoel Jerusalem. We have a chance to turn the club into a huge winning team on and off of the court. The goal is to fill the arena with fans and I know full well as a basketball fan how important the experience is. I want to improve the fan experience along with bringing more advertisers and sponsors. I will work strategically to reach our goals and help have the club make a huge impact in the community.”

Jerusalem will be playing in the Basketball Champions League for at least one more season after having reached the final this past year but came up just short to Bonn. While the Euroleague is the goal for many basketball clubs and that is certainly one that the owner would like to reach, Adelson had mentioned in his opening press conference a couple of months that the club had an exclusive negotiating period to bring the Final Four to the capital city in the spring of 2024. However, while conversations with the BCL CEO Patrick Comninos continues there is still no deal in place.

Mekel expanded a bit on Jerusalem potentially playing in continent’s top competition, the Euroleague, “As someone who has been part of the game for years, that question has been around the club for many years and there are many things that aren’t reliant upon us. The Euroleague is a big league with a lot of politics that take place off of the court, but we will do the best. Of course, the Euroleague is the goal but this year is going to be a transition season as there are many new people here at the club.”

One of the other goals that is at the forefront of the franchise is how Hapoel Jerusalem can become a household name not only in Israel with top of the level facilities, youth department and academy, but worldwide. The potential has been there for years and this is something that is now on the tips of the tongues of both Mekel and Kremer.

“There is no question that Hapoel Jerusalem can become a worldwide brand,” Mekel stated. “But this is going to be a long journey and it won’t be something that will occur very quickly. We want to take this journey together and take the club to the next level. We don’t have to look at others, but to be the best that we can be and as Matan said that we will try to reach the highest of heights that we can. We want to really build a plan to develop players and build a state of the art training facility that has never been seen in the country. We want to make sure that every player should feel that Hapoel is a special club.”

Kremer who also wants to take advantage of technology that exists to help the club added, “My time in the US was to learn from the best, whether it was in the business or sports world. I’m going to try to find that bridge between the two. I understand the mentality here and the way we have to think outside of the box. I want to take sports in the country to the highest of levels. We want to do this right but also the right way. I have a plan as to where we want to go this year, in three years and in five years which is to turn Hapoel Jerusalem into the best sports club in Israel.”

Adelson has promised Kremer the necessary resources to succeed and said clearly that he spoke about that at length with the new CEO and that the club will be looking to hire people for additional roles as well as to expand the management and business team.

“As someone who grew up on basketball, Jerusalem was a team that we looked up to. I’m still new to the market and I don’t yet know what it’s strengths and weaknesses are, but the first thing is to listen and learn about those in the market. I want to take the good things and improve what we have but this is a process, however, there is no question that the team that represents this city has to be important.”

While winning games is definitely a goal, Adelson doesn’t want that to be the be all and end all as to how the club will measure success, “I don’t think there is a straight forward answer to that question. I think that we strive to see success every day and success doesn’t need to be a championship, there are a lot of small successes that lead to a big success. In terms of timeline, every day you can see success, every month you can see success, obviously every season we want to win titles, that is what we strive for.”

“But I don’t think that there is a clear framework for every season we want to look back and see if we had a successful season or not. I don’t think we won’t have that exercise every season. We’re focused on being the best team we can be internally, and we are not trying to compare ourselves to others. We’ll define success for ourselves, but it won’t come in one form and it won’t come in one set of timelines. It’s really going to be an ongoing, continuous measurement.”