Rudolf Hickel (78) is one of the most famous financial scientists in Germany. The economics professor at the University of Bremen is also a Werder fan. In the BILD interview, he explains the club’s risk of bankruptcy and advises Werder to invest.
BILD: Mr. Hickel, Werder got into financial difficulties due to the Corona crisis. Are you worried?
Hickel: “The situation for Werder is absolutely serious. BWS (Bremer Weserstadion GmbH, d. Ed.) Was threatened with insolvency at the end of the year if there had been no financial help for the stadium company. If, in addition, there is no credit or no image-obsessed investor steps in, which it does not look like, Werder will end up insolvent if the pandemic continues and faces bankruptcy. “
What would bankruptcy mean for the region?
“According to an estimate by ‘Nielsen Sports’ (research and consulting company, d. Ed.), Around 300 million euros per season would be lost directly and indirectly in the added value previously generated by the SVW. This also includes overnight stays or visits to bars. In addition, there is the failure of the worldwide image carrier SVW for Bremen. The city has always benefited massively from Werder. It would be a very big loss. “
A loan secured by the KfW Bank should prevent this. But Werder has been waiting for this for months.
“Werder has developed well in terms of business after difficult years. In the last balance sheet 2018/19 there was even a profit of 3.5 million euros. Therefore, the club must be treated like any other company. Werder slipped into the crisis through no fault of their own. If Lufthansa rightly receives 9 billion euros in state aid, then one cannot say that professional football in Bremen infected by Corona is getting nothing. “
Can Werder only keep up with one investor in the long run?
“Werder is a showcase club in the Bundesliga: down-to-earth, regional, free from major investors. On the one hand, this is the advantage, makes the charm and acceptance. But the question is whether you can survive with the development of millionaire football with this medium-sized business model. “
What do you suggest?
“A Bremen investor group for Werder, possibly supplemented by crowdfunding in the sense of crowd financing by many small“ donors ”. An investment company that provides capital under certain conditions. Not one investor, but several. The group would have to be very clearly separated from the sporting events. It would be wonderful if locally committed entrepreneurs from Bremen got together. I am very skeptical whether that will succeed. “
Why?
“In such cases, even successful entrepreneurs from Bremen estimate the Werder risk as too high.”
The required loans would burden Werder for years. Can the club take it?“You can only start repaying the loans after three years and extend them over many years. In the case of Werder, with a KfW loan of EUR 20 million, that would be EUR 666 thousand over 30 years per year – without interest payments. That is affordable. “
Werder got into the Corona crisis completely through no fault of their own. Has the club made mistakes anyway?
“The annual reports from 2016 show that Werder has stabilized well after a critical phase. However, mistakes have been made in the players’ purchasing strategy. For example, that through transfers you only get into the financial burden now. This is a highly sensitive area. “
In addition, Werder has already planned with a sold out Weser stadium from the second half of the season.
“Afterwards you are always smarter. But: I realized quite early that there would be a second wave after the summer. You always need a best-case and worst-case scenario. The worst case has not been played through enough in my planning. If that had happened, higher loans would certainly be required now. “
Should the construction of the young talent center continue to have priority despite the crisis?
“Despite all the difficulties, it is extremely important to think in perspective right now. The association must not give up its future-oriented investment. To stop everything now and just see that you survive to some extent would be very bad for the future. Promoting young talent is exactly the right thing to do. “
Foto: Getty Images-“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/klub-boss-klaus-filbry-r–und-sportchef-frank-baumann-kaempfen-um-werders-z Zukunft-201393999-73918352 /Bild/1.bild.jpg “/>
Club boss Klaus Filbry (r.) And sports director Frank Baumann fight for Werder’s futureFoto: Getty Images
–
–
How will Corona change professional football?
“I believe that there will be changes among the previous football fans. Corona acts like a magnifying glass that makes pent-up undesirable developments of recent years visible in professional football. The mass rush is also likely to decline because of the acceptance crisis. The audience figures and thus the sales of the pre-Corona period will no longer be achieved. “
Do players’ salaries have to be capped?
“Far too much is being paid in the multi-million dollar player markets. This has nothing to do with performance-related pay for a long time. I hope that there will be a restriction on salaries across Europe, but please not go it alone on the Weser. “
– .
