Dhe past two winters have presented significant problems for clubs in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), and the coming one will be no less challenging. The pandemic has created economic strains that are still having an impact. “Corona shook us up,” says managing director Gernot Tripcke, describing the status quo, which, according to a preliminary interim balance, is reflected in a considerable minus in the budget: Overall, the lost sales since 2019 have totaled 133 million euros, as verified by the league in relation to Figures announced by the 15 clubs.
For the current season, the revenue planning amounts to 150 million euros, which would be 25 percent less than was assumed in the long-term DEL planning before the outbreak of the virus crisis. “There is already a brake in it, because actually we would have had much better numbers without Corona,” Tripcke summarized the difficulties. The opportunities to deal with the consequences of the emergency are scarce, because now, with the turmoil on the energy market, another problem that very few saw coming requires the fastest possible solutions.
