Problems with the hotel standards and plays, empty ranks also in the KO games-the European Basketball Championship in Riga becomes a problem for the organizers.
Accommodation at big tournaments is an important topic. Also among the German basketball players who are playing for the title at the European Championship in Riga. In the preliminary round, the team of the German Basketball Association (DBB) in Finland resided in the tranquil tampere. In a relaxed hotel, with table tennis slabs and game consoles and five minutes footpath to the hall.
Problems with the hotel standard at the DBB team
But in the new home in Riga, where the final round of the EM takes place, the German team has not yet wanted to set a feel -good atmosphere. Immediately after the arrival, there were discrete, later also clear criticism of the standard of the assigned team hotel: karges too small. And above all on the location of the four-star tower on the river bank, which offers wonderful views of the “Paris of the north”, but is also conveniently located: directly on the bridge ramp of a multi-lane feeder road, over which the complete traffic rolls into the center.
You could have known all of this at the Fiba Basketball Association and its European office if their officials had inspected the team hotels, their location and equipment in advance. Obviously, however, they had to be pushed on it by representatives of the DBB.
Fiba blocks the DBB moving request
According to Sportschau information, the German delegation had already made the desire for a move on the first day at Fiba, also because its hotel is the only house on the “wrong” side of the river. The result was significantly more ways to the hall and training – or just for a short walk to the old town’s beautiful.
By Monday afternoon, the Fiba was not able to convert the DBB team. Another team hotel also reported problems with the equipment.
Empty ranks at the Casketball European Championship, also in Riga
Why the final round of a European Championship is forgiven to a place where apparently not all teams can be adequately accommodated is only one of many questions with which the organizers are now confronted with.
The biggest problem catches the eye when visiting the games: In the preliminary round in Tampere, the arena, with the exception of the games of host Finland, was often only filled with a third. At the KO games in Riga, it tends to be worse: the round of 16 of the German team against Portugal officially pursued 2,300 fans, in a hall with 11,000 places.
Ghost backdrop already in Tampere: EM game Germany against Great Britain
At the round of 16 on the second day, the upper rank was even hung with a dark tarpaulin to cover the empty seats. And at a European Championship, in which the teams compete almost in the best line -up, with the stars from NBA like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Franz Wagner.
Ticket prices from 120 euros, hardly Basketball enthusiasm in riga
The ghost backdrop may also have shaken the German fans who traveled with them, the memories of the past home European Championship three years ago are still fresh, with mostly very well-attended games, especially in the preliminary round in Cologne, and an international basketball festival in front of the arena in Deutz.
But there are also enough places elsewhere in Europe where basketball is lived – at least more than in Latvia, where ice hockey is number one. Even the ticket prices should not invite the sports -interested Letten to take a look at the basketball: for the quarter -finals of the German team against Slovenia, the cheapest card costs 120 euros, at the semi -finals it is another 30 euros more. The better places on the long side of the field start at 200 euros. It is no surprise that there are still sufficient cards in all categories until the final.
Criticism of game dates – Türkiye at 12 noon
The turkey times also caused criticism, especially for the teams: Turkey, at least title candidate, had to go to the floor in their round of 16 at 12 noon. Her coach Ergin Ataman found clear words for this: so far he had only experienced something like this in a FIBA competition, at the EM 2022, and at most in a youth game.
Ataman was also one of the coaches at the European Championships who demanded larger squads: 15 instead of the 12 players that were permissible so far. There have already been three prominent failures with Bogdan Bogdanovic, Rokas Jokubaitis or the German Vice captain Johannes Voigtmann. Non-nominations are not intended in the FIBA regulations.
Hollatz: “We are heated”
The already borderline strain of the players (national player Justus Hollatz: “We are being burned”) continues at the European Championship. The FIBA follows the trend of other large sports associations, with its EM bloated on 24 teams, and five games alone only in the preliminary round. With teams like Great Britain or Cyprus who actually have no business at this level.
Em with four Ovages – From Finland to Cyprus
But the equation is: the more games, the more marketing-the FIBA tries to boost this by awarding the European Championship to a main venue, and also a preliminary group to three other co-hosts. The cities do not even have to be in a region – part of the group phase took place this time in Cyprus. This causes additional travel stress for teams and fans – apart from sustainability questions.
Basketball World Cup 2027 in Qatar
The Fiba left the sports show about possible adjustments to the EM format, venue and nominations. The association managers now have enough time to “evaluate” this tournament and consider how to better market and organize an EM, especially for the growing number of basketball fans in Europe. There is no big tournament for the first time since Corona pandemic. It was not until 2027 that there is another basketball world championship – it will be held in Qatar.