The managing directors of BBL and HBL strongly warn of the impending economic consequences of the corona crisis for their sports. The DEL has already responded.
- The spread of the corona virus * has "massive effects" on professional sports in Germany.
- HBL and BBL fear that there will be considerable economic consequences.
- The DEL and DEL2 cancel the play-offs .
Update from March 10, 7.15 p.m .: The corona virus has caused the first professional league in German sport to take a drastic step: The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) has canceled the play-offs for the first time in its history due to the pandemic.
DEL: No 2020 ice hockey champion because of the corona virus
The result: There will not be a 100th German ice hockey champion for the time being. Main round winner Red Bull Munich, defending champion Adler Mannheim, for the first time the Straubing Tigers and Eisbären Berlin have at least qualified for the Champions League .
Main round winner in the DEL: the EHC Red Bull Munich.
© dpa / Lino Mirgeler
"We are extremely sorry for all clubs, partners and especially fans all over Germany that we have to make this decision," said DEL Managing Director Gernot Tripcke after hours of deliberations on Tuesday: "However, given the current developments, we have a duty to be responsible to deal with the situation. We at DEL focus on the health of our fans, players and employees. "
The DEL sees itself forced to end the 19/20 season early with immediate effect and does not let any playoffs play. There will be no master. The DEL thus follows the recommendations of Chancellor Merkel and Minister of Health Spahn. https://t.co/EGSCQty6kX pic.twitter.com/qX95RtXaUo
- German Ice Hockey League (@DELofficial) March 10, 2020The DEL did not choose the ghost games option . In play-offs without spectators, the clubs would only have had expenditure, but hardly any income - the spectator factor is much larger than in football. Gross revenue from 60,000 to over 200,000 would have been lost per game simply from ticket sales.
Something like this can sometimes threaten the existence of a professional club below football and the Bundesliga .
Coronavirus: Handball Bundesliga clubs "are very tense"
First announcement from March 10, 2020: The managing directors of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) strongly warn of the impending economic consequences of the Corona crisis for their sports.
“It's not just about three or four home games. It's about existential questions. The clubs are very tense for a reason, ”HBL boss Frank Bohmann told SID. BBL boss Stefan Holz said in the SID conversation: “It's about the things that are done. If the matchday proceeds break away, it won't work. "
Corona virus: criticism from the handball Bundesliga on crisis management
Wood wants to "raise awareness that professional sport will have a massive impact ". In contrast to the Bundesliga , ghost games are not a real option.
Supposedly, the football matches could now be broadcast free of charge on Sky and DAZN. The game in the round of 16 of the Champions League between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker) will take place as planned and with fans.
Bohmann emphasized with a view to the political limit of 1,000 spectators : “Our professional league would have liked to have been more closely involved in the decision-making process. The 1000 mark seems completely arbitrary to us. "
HBL is now talking about “also being able to save clubs in the summer, that is a priority”. At an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, "you will go through different scenarios and then decide how we will react," said Bohmann. In addition to games in compliance with official requirements, there are extensive cancellations in the room.
Coronavirus: BBL and HBL warn of "massive effects"
Frank Bohmann
© dpa / Daniel Reinhardt
Handball champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Bundesliga leaders THW Kiel have to play their next home games in front of empty ranks. The reason is a decision by Schleswig-Holstein's state government on Tuesday to ban events involving more than 1,000 people until April 10 due to the coronavirus.
At Kiel, the home games against Bergische HC on March 22nd and SC Magdeburg on March 26th will affect two games in which the team of coach Filip Jicha is concerned with important points in the fight for the national title.
Bother me massively. Other countries: We pause / organize ghost games from x to y. Germany: Joa, NRW participates, Bavaria participates, but with us in Berlin there is no risk! The very fact that people from Bavaria are arriving is already torpedoing this logic. https://t.co/fOcAZPlN8h
- Justin Kraft (@Lahmsteiger) March 10, 2020For the Flensburg players, the round of 16 first leg in the Champions League against French representative Montpellier HB on March 18, the chase duel in the league against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf on March 22 and the game against TBV Lemgo Lippe are on the home schedule.
In this case, one has to “also take care of solutions that are offered by the state. The state has to fulfill its responsibility, ”said Bohmann:“ Unlike in professional football , our clubs earn their money primarily from sponsorship and ticketing . ”The proceeds from tickets make up around a quarter of the Bundesliga clubs' budget.
Coronavirus: DEL playoffs could be canceled
The BBL is already meeting for a crisis meeting on Thursday. "We have not yet made a decision. There will be no one hundred percent solution, ”said Holz:“ Any solution is somehow bad, we have to weigh it up. ”If the season ended early, FC Bayern Basketball would be crowned German premature champion.
The next league game is scheduled for Friday with the game of Central German BC against the Giessen 46ers. The first handball Bundesliga has no games at the weekend due to an international match.
The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) is about to decide on how to proceed as a result of the corona virus. There is still no "final" decision, a spokesman for the league said on Tuesday: "We assess the situation today together with the clubs."
As a possible scenario, it cannot be ruled out that the season for the German ice hockey championship will be terminated prematurely and that main round winner EHC Red Bull Munich will be declared champion.
DEL champions without playoffs? Red Bull Munich waves title
"If we are not allowed to play, we are not allowed to play," said managing director Gernot Tripcke in the ice hockey news (Tuesday): "We will choose a master." The DEL would "comply with all the instructions of the authorities".
The first round of playoffs should begin on Wednesday in which the two remaining quarter-finalists will be determined. The ERC Ingolstadt meets the Augsburg Panthers . In the second duel in the best-of-three series, the Nürnberg Ice Tigers play against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg .
"It cannot be ruled out that the season will end prematurely on Tuesday afternoon and that Munich will then be the first round German new champion," said Nuremberg managing director Wolfgang Gastner of the Bild newspaper.
dpa / sid / smk / pm
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Lino Mirgeler