Neuss (dpa) - A game operation in the new season without spectators is not feasible for the German Ice Hockey League.
If, due to the corona virus pandemic, games with an audience are still not possible in September, this could lead to the collapse of the DEL. "The game would then not be refinanced. This can only be a temporary and temporary scenario," said DEL Managing Director Gernot Tripcke of the German Press Agency.
The DEL had ended the current season because of the Corona crisis after the end of the main round and before the start of the playoffs. Unlike in football, where the Bundesliga wants to end the current season from May without a spectator, this makes "no economic sense in ice hockey," said Tripcke: "We have much lower TV revenues in ice hockey than in football. Without spectators and the sponsors involved in the arenas would only be about a third of the normal income. "
The loss of the season is devastating, even as the season ends. "For the DEL Group, I expect to lose around 15 to 20 million euros in sales due to the cancellation of the playoffs," said Tripcke, who actually wants to start the new season regularly with the league on September 18. Should this not be possible with spectators, the start of the season would very likely be postponed.
"If it should come to the point that there is only the option to postpone or shorten the new season, we will of course discuss this with the clubs. You have to see what can be economically represented. But with a professional league without spectators, there is no the business model, "said the 52-year-old.
Tripcke, however, emphasized that the plans are currently designed for a normal start of the season in September. The license check is scheduled to take place in the second half of May.
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DEL table after the main round
