Cologne - The economic crisis is shared by Cologne's fun Temple No. 1 to the core. There are fewer and fewer fans in the Lanxess Arena.
In the handball players of VfL Gummersbach are just 4497 (an average occupancy: 24.3 percent), with the sharks there are only 10961 (capacity: 59.3 percent).
Arena boss Ralf Bernd Assenmacher knows the reasons for the loss of viewers: "In both leagues, the viewing figures worsened dramatically. People are simply not currently have the money to come often in the hall. "
But now, the bosses make the Henkel male mobile, fighting together with the clubs to the crisis. Arena manager Stefan holes: "With the VfL Gummersbach are planned marketing campaigns. We are working to create even more in Cologne club identification. And with the sharks of course we support the demands of KEC's Managing Director Eichin after a league-reduction. The Ice Hockey League last needed a new mode - there are simply too many games. "
Assenmacher also has two super trumps up his sleeve: the beginning of 2009 he traveled again to the U.S. to negotiate with the bosses of the basketball league NBA, David Stern and NHL ice hockey league, Ken Jaffee, too. "The NHL would like to unsubscribe from the Ice Hockey World Championships 2010 in our arena two games. Even with the NBA will continue to work intensively discussed. "Perhaps it creates the bustling arena boss, yes, to lure the Dallas Mavericks with superstar Dirk Nowitzki to Cologne. The only problem: The financial crisis has increased the demands of the Americans tripled.
Plans for the 2010 World Cup hockey highlight meanwhile also run at full speed. The ticket sale is scheduled on 15 Starting in December. Hopefully successful.
