The Tigers Tübingen are still busy leading the basketball location Tübingen through the Corona crisis. Tigers manager Robert Wintermantel gives an insight into the current tasks and dares to look into the future.
Mr. Wintermantel, training and matches have been suspended for almost three months now. The new season is usually planned in the summer months, which is now a bit difficult due to the unclear perspective. What are your most important tasks in day-to-day business due to the Corona crisis?
Robert winter coat: In the last few days and weeks, the creation of the financial plan and various scenarios have been at the top of my agenda. The financial plan had to be handed over to the expert committee on June 1, 2020. This was time-consuming as components kept changing. It is of course not an easy task to plan if some basic conditions for the new season have not yet been determined. That is why our financial planning includes many assumptions that were made in close cooperation with the league around managing director Christian Krings. We have various partners who are acutely affected by the Corona crisis. These long-term business partners are often unable to make any statements as to whether a further connection with the Tigers Tübingen is possible. We know this very well and therefore understand the worries and fears of our partners. With regard to the start of the new season, it can be said that the clubs and the league only want to start when a game with spectators is possible. Everything else does not make sense.
What have been the core tasks for you and your employees over the past few weeks?
After the abrupt end of the season, my office team and I naturally had to get together first, but then reacted quickly. So it was helpful that, through the years of consolidation from 2009, we are already experienced in the crisis. This new situation, unknown to us, had to be analyzed in order to ensure the continued existence of Tübingen basketball. The primary goal was to take all measures with regard to savings. We gave up a total of three player apartments, the implementation was time-consuming, but this was a necessary step for cost reasons. In addition, there was the complete processing of the past season 2019/2020, including the application for short-time allowance for employees. The crowdfunding campaign had to be accompanied by us. In addition, despite the Corona crisis, there were some appointments with our sponsors.
With Prof. Dr. Michael Bamberg (CEO ProBasket Tübingen AG) and Dr. Dr. Saskia Biskup (board member) you now have two new colleagues in the team. How can you imagine the collaboration as a whole?
Well, it is the case that both people have to perform management tasks in their companies. You are of course not present at the office every day. However, we are in constant, intensive exchange and discuss all important points together. Both personalities contribute their experience in economic and management issues with a lot of energy and thus greatly enrich my work. They are also very well networked in Tübingen. Overall, I am very positive that we can master this crisis together and I look forward to further cooperation.
You are an optimistic person and manager. What is your current business feeling?
To be completely honest, the prospects in March and April were still very bleak. The new situation could not be grasped at all, and no one knew how long this crisis and all its effects will keep us busy and to what extent. We – as a sporting service provider – are of course still very hard hit with indoor games. Training of the professionals, training of the entire offspring was not possible for months. The situation was and still is serious. However, with all the easing and the falling number of infections, I am now more optimistic that we can lead the Tübingen basketball location through this never-before-seen crisis.
What are the current plans for the round starting on October 16?
We are currently planning with a reduced budget. I think that will be the case for a lot of competitors in the league and teams in other leagues too. We have of course already received rejections from partners. That hurts a lot, but in each individual case it is more than understandable. However, it is encouraging that we have heard extremely positive signals from various partners. We are dependent on the income from our partners as well as on entrance fees. TV money in the BARMER 2. Basketball Bundesliga is – unlike in the Bundesliga – unfortunately negligible.
The city of Tübingen has waived open hall costs, many season ticket holders and sponsors have waived a reimbursement, the crowdfunding campaign was successful. How do you classify these events overall?
These three points are milestones so that we can maintain the Tübingen basketball location. I was very happy about every single point and would like to thank everyone again, Lord Mayor Palmer and the members of the municipal council, our season ticket holders and sponsors as well as Jascha Maus and Hans Georg Kienzle for the crowdfunding campaign. Many partners are also loyal to us during this difficult time, which makes me very happy. All of this shows that basketball is very important in our city. A good sign for Tübingen as a basketball location.
Walter AG will no longer be part of the sponsor pool in the future. How can you make up for or offset this serious loss?
The complete exit of Walter AG is still a heavy blow for us. At the same time, we have never taken the support for granted in 16 years. Even without the Corona crisis, compensating for the lost contribution would have been very difficult, under the new conditions it will of course be even more difficult.
Above all, Corona will also change sport. What will the clubs generally have in store?
I am convinced that there will be significantly less money in the market overall. Of course, this will also have an impact on player salaries. The fact that teams such as Baunach, Elchingen, Würzburg 2, Schalke or Oldenburg 2 have withdrawn also exacerbates the situation for the players – there are most likely fewer places. If less money is available, the professionalism at the locations will also suffer. Items that may have been taken for granted in the past may need to be discontinued.
The Tübingen-based company has already announced the first two newcomers, Elias Valtonen and Daniel Keppeler. What about the Tigers’ personnel planning?
We are of course holding talks with potential players for the new round. In this regard, I am in close contact with the new head coach Danny Jansson and sports adviser Manuel Pasios. However, we first have to see what financial options will be available to us in the future. We can only spend money when we have it. We will not deviate from this line, which we have also successfully followed in recent years. Overall, prices for players will continue to fall over the next few weeks and months. We are not yet under pressure as the start of the season will most likely be postponed and there will be a lot of players on the market overall.
What are the ideas for the new season’s squad?
The roster for the new team should consist of four components. A tribe around the under contract players Enosch Wolf, Roland Nyama and Besnik Bekteshi, young, German perspective players who can recommend themselves for the BBL in Tübingen, foreign players and our own talents that we want to introduce to the ProA team. The goal is to bring a squad of ten players plus young players to the start. The rate of full professionals could be lower, however, as we may also include players with a degree or training in Tübingen.
