EHockey fans have to get used to a new name. On Tuesday, the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) announced that it would appear as “Penny DEL” in the future. The league has concluded a contract with the discounter from Cologne until 2024. Nothing was known about the financial details. According to information from the FAZ, the contract is worth more than that with the previous main sponsor Covestro. Each of the 14 DEL clubs can count on a six-figure amount annually.
In return, the company is part of the league name and is allowed to take action in its markets. What is in the sense of the DEL, it is also about “getting one or two spectators more into the halls”, says DEL managing director Gernot Tripcke.
In the past, there have been concerns about the title sponsor. Does it fit the image of the sport? Do the fans accept it? And what do local club sponsors say where the most money is made? Central marketing revenues – league sponsors and TV money – account for less than ten percent of budgets on average. Car manufacturers, breweries or betting providers failed; There are local sponsors from the branches almost everywhere.
Many survive only through rich patrons
Tripcke is all the happier to have found a company “with which there is relatively little overlap at club level”. In general, he was “happy that we can send such a signal in this phase”. The step of selling your own name was not the result of a “panic attack”, “the first discussions were held in the pre-Corona period,” says Tripcke.
Even then, hardly a club took as much as it spent. Many survive only through rich patrons or companies. Now in the crisis, the problems come to light. There are hardly any reserves, and if it is not played in front of fans soon, things will look bleak in some places. The new federal package promises help. DEL clubs can receive up to € 800,000 for lost ticket revenue from April to December. But even that is not a final salvation, as Tripcke admits: “It would be a pavement to ensure the economic survival of the clubs, but this alone will not be enough to make any games affordable without spectators.” They are not worth it in one League in which around two thirds are earned on match day.
That is why the start of the season is now being postponed. Instead of September 18th, it should start “not before November 1st”. Which does not mean that the date is set. No one knows yet whether the restrictions on major events that apply until October 31 will not be extended. The Germany Cup will also take place in Krefeld on November 5th. Instead of interrupting the season again, some clubs only want to start afterwards.
Either way: Time is running out. Although the start of the 2021 World Cup has been postponed to mid-May, the 52 main round games and the four play-off rounds remain for just under 30 weeks. The DEL will have to schedule numerous games during the week, which will cost viewers. The big question is how many of them can enter the hall at all. Stefan Adam, Managing Director of Düsseldorfer EG, demands “concrete, predictable perspectives” from politics. But there is no such thing. So the DEL deals with different scenarios. Recently there was an appointment in Düsseldorf, where ideas for 2000, 4000 and 6000 visitors were developed.
Players don’t want to sign
The DEL is in a dilemma: it depends on many fans in the halls, but has to start as early as possible. A shortening or a failure of the play-offs are also under discussion if it should only start in winter, but this should only happen in an emergency. The most important phase had already ended last season, costing the league millions. In March the DEL had canceled its season as the first division, now it wants to avoid being the last to join again. A break of nine months or more would not only set the audience revenue to zero for a long time, sponsors could also become restless. And when it starts, there are higher expenses: more folders to control the rules, regular tests for players and the staff around them.
That’s why the clubs save wherever possible. Employees are on short-time work, even after that 25 percent of the players’ salaries are frozen. There were arguments for weeks, and some players still refuse to sign the waiver. It is not legally possible to refuse their license, officially the signature is voluntary, but Tripcke told the “Ice Hockey News”: “I doubt whether a club licenses this player.”
Which would mean: Don’t sign or play along. There could still be something waiting for the DEL. Especially since the consent of the players should be linked to the licensing to the clubs. Tripcke did not want to answer whether this still applies and one or the other team now has to improve the documents. But you don’t have to wait long, the result of the license check is to be published this week.
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