Basketball Bundesliga team Alba Berlin can also play their games in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the coming seasons.
“We will play there for the next three years,” Alba managing director Marco Baldi told “rbb”.
Alba’s lease in the hall between Ostbahnhof and Warschauer Strasse would have expired this year. “We have a great arena, a state-of-the-art arena all over Europe,” said the 61-year-old.
Despite everything, the situation for Berliners is not unproblematic. Alba has to move games again and again because the arena is occupied elsewhere.
According to “dpa” information, if the Berliners had progressed for a possible second semi-final in the playoffs, they would have had to switch to the Stadthalle Weißenfels because there was no adequate venue in the capital.
Debates about the construction of another hall
Baldi spoke of “other conditions that hurt us a lot” in relation to the new contract and added: “In order to be able to play in our arena, we have to spend considerably more than probably any of our competitors – without us having huge privileges have.” Finding a date requires a very high level of cooperation.
That’s why there are always debates about building another hall in Berlin – not just for Alba – with a size between the arena and the smaller Max-Schmeling-Halle.
“I’m not an expert, but from everything I’ve heard, Berlin can not only tolerate such a hall, but maybe even needs it,” said Baldi. Alba wants to deepen the exchange with the Senate for a long-term solution.