Hamburg Wants To Return To Basketball Bundesliga In '14 After 13-Year Hiatus

Hamburg "wants to return to the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) next year after a 13-year hiatus," according to FOCUS ONLINE. The club, called Hamburg Towers, however, "still needs a wild card for the '14-15 season." Club Chairs Pascal Roller and Marvin Willoughby "will apply for such a wild card to Germany's top flight basketball league." Roller: "The question is not if, but when Bundesliga basketball will be played in Hamburg." The club already has fulfilled the BBL's license requirements. The team currently has a budget of €1M ($1.35M) that is expected to increase to €4M ($5.4M) "in case the club gets the wild card." However, the Towers "have not found a title sponsor yet." The league already revealed that it would welcome a team from Hamburg. BBL CEO Jan Pommer said, "Hamburg is the gateway to the world and offers a huge potential. The league would profit from this creative, young and open-minded city." The decision on a possible wild card is not expected before May (FOCUS ONLINE, 9/19).