The Stechert Arena in Bamberg, Germany, home of Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) side Brose Baskets, "has to find a new naming-rights partner even quicker than it originally thought," according to NORDBAYERN. The Stechert Strahlrohrmöbel company announced on Thursday that it will terminate the naming-rights contract for the arena ahead of the scheduled expiration date in September. The reason for this drastic action is the highly dysfuntional relationship between the contract partners, especially the accusations of lying by Mayor Andreas Starke toward Stechert CEO Franz Stegner. Originally, Stegner was willing to fulfill the length of the contract, but now he said that "he had no other choice." The cancellation of the contract "is currently under review" (NORDBAYERN, 4/25).
EXTRA SPACE: The BERLINER ZEITUNG reported that 2nd Bundesliga club Hertha BSC is planning to install additional seating for its final home game of the season against Energie Cottbus on May 19. The club, which will be promoted to the Bundesliga after the season, wants to add 3,000 temporary seats to increase the stadium's capacity to 77,116. So far, the club has sold 45,000 tickets for the game (BERLINER ZEITUNG, 4/24).
