The basketball team Alba Berlin is planning not only Berlin’s largest multipurpose arena but also an entire club campus in Southeast Berlin (Germany) with much grandiose.
‘rbb 24’ stated that the above was revealed in a presentation of the project by Alba’s representatives to the Sports Committee of the Berlin House of Representatives recently. It had previously been announced that Alba intends to build a new arena in Adlershof (locality in Berlin, Germany).
The Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena for their male team and at the Sporthalle Charlottenburg (Sömmeringhalle) for their female team. The male team competes in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL – the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany) and the female team competes in the Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga (DBBL – the premier Women’s basketball championship in Germany).
The 14,500-capacity Uber Arena (previously branded as the O2 World and the Mercedes-Benz Arena) is a multipurpose indoor arena in the Friedrichshain neighborhood of Berlin, Germany, which opened in 2008. It serves as the home court of the Alba Berlin.
The 2,500-capacity Charlottenburg Sports Hall (also known as Sömmeringhalle) is a multipurpose hall in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany. It serves as the residence of the Alba Berlin Women team.
Club Campus
According to information released recently, the arena planned between the Johannisthal (locality in Berlin) and the Adlershof S-Bahn Stations will be able to hold up to 20,000 people. Furthermore, the area is intended to become the future home of the entire club.
‘rbb 24’ further stated that following the European National Basketball Association (NBA) visions the Berlin team is planning an entire campus with diverse facilities and uses around the new arena. These range from a modern training center in the form of a smaller multipurpose hall to a daycare center and a high school including a basketball boarding school.
New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and one (1) in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
New Arena Location
Alba has identified the technology park on the border of Johannisthal and Adlershof as the location for its arena and the associated campus. The site is situated between the two S-Bahn stations and also offers convenient access to the B96 and the A113 highways.
Talks are doing the rounds of a hall with a capacity for up to 15,000 fans. However, Alba’s Managing Director Marco Baldi and the Finance Director Daniel Endres is mulling on a hall with capacity to accommodate 16,000 to 20,000 visitors.
However, the 20,000 seats would only apply to the events where the arena floor can also be used. This would include concerts and other shows as well as business events such as conferences and symposia. Alba stated that they expect to host around 200 events annually in the arena.
In addition to the multi-purpose arena, Alba is planning numerous other sports facilities on the site in Southeast Berlin.
Explained Baldi, “We’re not just talking about an arena, but a campus. For us it’s essential that we concentrate our activities in one location. This includes, for example, a performance center usable for several sports in the form of a second, smaller multipurpose hall.”
The plans include two basketball courts which will serve not only Alba’s professional and competitive teams but also the other athletes from the region. Alba has also planned a daycare center with 80 to 100 rooms, a two-track secondary school and a basketball boarding school.
Put in Endres, “Furthermore, the campus should be open to the neighborhood. We want to create opportunities for the people in the area.”
Timeline
Baldi pointed out that the arena planning is still in its early stages: The best-case scenario is that the 2031-2032 seasons can be played in the new arena.
Endres stated that the immediate priority is to “put the project on a sound financial footing.” Furthermore, “numerous permitting processes” need to be completed and initiated.
Bankroll
Alba Berlin again pointed to the early stage of planning. However, the Berlin officials are roughly estimating a “three-figure million-euro sum”. For comparison, the construction of the arena at Ostbahnhof (railway station in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany) cost around 165 million euros. Alba plans to secure the majority of the financing from the national and the international investors. However, in recent days, there has been talk of co-financing by a US banking consortium.
With regard to the campus, especially the planned daycare center and the high school, the public funds from the City of Berlin are likely to play a role. To what extent the City intends to financially support the plans and how the Alba will acquire the building site remains unanswered.
NBA Europe Role
The NBA Europe will play a very big role in the arena construction. Along with the North American NBA the best basketball league in the world is planning to establish a European league in the coming years. Alba Berlin has a strong interest in participating and hopes for a positive impact on the construction of the arena and the campus.
Baldi talked about numerous discussions with potential investors – both regarding the construction of the arena and a possible participation in NBA Europe. It remains unclear whether Alba would still be able to find enough financially strong investors for a new arena if the NBA Europe doesn’t materialize or if the Berlin team isn’t accepted.
The Alba Berlin has been searching for an alternative to the arena at Ostbahnhof for years. The Berlin team has played its home games there since 2008. However, they have recently struggled with the scheduling conflicts and the rapidly rising rents to the tune of millions directly impacting Alba’s personnel budget and sporting performance.
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