Basketball Bundesliga Raises The Bar For Its Clubs, More Than $320K For Wildcard

The German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) "raised the requirements for participating and prospective teams," according to Axel Gaiser of DER WESTEN. At the league conference in Bamberg, Germany, the BBL "decided to drastically increase the Wildcard fee" from €150,000 ($193,500) to €250,000 ($322,500). In addition, "clubs can only get a Wildcard once every five years." Phoenix Hagen CEO Oliver Herkelmann said, "The Wildcard was created to bring potentially interesting new locations into the league, and we have always said that we would have played in Pro A if we had been relegated." The league also raised the bar in other areas. The league "will expand its youth development program and soon require clubs to hire a third full-time youth coach." In addition, BBL clubs will have to have a practice facility in order to avoid substantial penalty fees (DER WESTEN, 9/30).