Before the federal and state consultations on Wednesday, many professional sports clubs are hoping for further steps towards the maximum goal: sold-out stadiums and halls.
The head of the basketball Bundesliga, Stefan Holz, speaks of a “way in the right direction.” As if they had agreed, handball managing director Frank Bohmann chose an identical description of the way in the “right direction.”
Full opening from March 20th?
In a first proposal for the federal-state talks on Wednesday, there is talk of a utilization of 40 percent of the respective hall capacity from March 4th, whereby the number of people may not exceed 4000. The proposal, which is available to the dpa, also says: “In a third and final step from March 20, 2022, all more far-reaching protective measures will no longer apply.” However, it is unclear to what extent this applies to the restrictions in the stadiums and halls, as it does not yet represent a concrete draft for the decision paper of the federal-state talks.
The many different twists and turns in about two years of the corona pandemic have also left their mark on the clubs, and some officials are also skeptical about the upcoming summit. The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) reacted cautiously to the plans. You have to wait for “the exact decisions”, said DEL managing director Gernot Tripcke. “But of course it would be very positive and an important sign if more spectators are possible again at sporting events.”
Bohmann warns against too high expectations
The 57-year-old handball boss also warned against excessive expectations. “It won’t be done with a snap of the fingers. The spectators won’t be pouring in everywhere again. We’ll have to do some work on one or the other,” said Bohmann. Clubs would still be in crisis mode and they were longing for normal business. Although the HBL managing director still expects a few game cancellations due to the pandemic, he expressed his confidence in principle: “I think we’ll get through well until the end of the season.”
Overall, Holz sees the basketball league coming through the season well so far. “I wouldn’t have bet on that at the beginning of the Omicron wave. It’s not even a black eye that we’ve gotten away with so far,” said the BBL boss. With the previous number of matches to be made up, one would get along very well.
As already reported yesterday, the clubs in the Bundesliga can also hope for the admission of significantly more spectators of up to 25,000 from March 4th. A utilization of 60 percent of the respective maximum capacity should not be exceeded.
Source: dpa
