Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) club Bayern Munich "has withdrawn its support for a proposed new multipurpose arena," according to Gabriel Wagner of SPONSORs. The plans for co-occupancy by Bayern Munich and German Hockey League (DEL) club EHC Red Bull Munich are therefore "off the table." Bayern Munich will continue to play its games at the 6,700-seat Audi Dome. The club plans increase the arena's capacity to 8,000 and also invest in the surrounding infrastructure. Bayern President Karl Hopfner said in a statement, "Our reasons for the withdrawal from the planning of a new arena at the Olympic Park are the high economic risks for the club and especially the long-term commitment the concept presented by Red Bull would require." Reports suggested the annual rent would have in the seven-figure range. The hockey club "could still pursue the project on its own." The club and title sponsor Red Bull have not yet commented on Bayern's announcement. Red Bull has from the beginning said that it would finance the construction costs of €100M-€120M for the proposed arena on its own (SPONSORs, 2/26). Red Bull's Global Sports Dir/Hockey Pierre Pagé declined to comment on the project's future in a recent interview with SBD Global. Asked about rumors that the arena project is falling through, he said, "Please note that we can't comment on any possible future projects at this point" (HJ Mai, SBD Global).
