Michael Stich is out.The former Wimbledon winner must hand over the license for the tournament at Rothenbaum in Hamburg to the Austrian Peter-Michael Reichel from 2019.
Michael Stich, an Austrian on the bridge of command: The German Tennis Association (DTB) has made a decision in the struggle for the licensing of the German Open at Rothenbaum in Hamburg.After ten years as organizer and tournament director in 2019, Stich will have to pass the baton on to the Austrian entrepreneur Peter-Michael Reichel.Reichel’s offer guarantees the association the best overall package “after evaluation of all criteria”, as DTB President Ulrich Klaus put it.
In the very best of terms, as is customary in the DTB, the matter would not have gone off the stage, because Stich himself did not formulate anything at first.On Thursday, the 1991 Wimbledon winner had improved his offer and was financially on a par with Reichel.A total of 2.5 million euros for the tournaments from 2019 to 2023 was ready to pay the price, but he was not awarded the contract.He asked for his understanding that he did not want to say anything so soon after the decision, Stich told SID on request:”I must first have all the information to get a picture.”
However, competitor Dietloff von Arnim, long-time World Team Cup tournament director at the Düsseldorf Rochusclub, did not hide his disappointment.He had presented “a very good concept” and, in choosing the venue, had fully complied with the wishes of the DTB.The Cologne top manager Michael Mronz had withdrawn his offer a few days before the decision of the association without giving any reasons.
The new licensee, with whom the concrete negotiations are to be brought to a conclusion in the shortest possible time, remained silent at first.Peter-Michael Reichel (64) is a big player not only in tennis.RBG Reichel Business Group GmbH, which is managed by its subsidiary Sandra, markets major cultural and business events as well as the WTA tournaments in Linz and Bad Gastein in Austria and the Nürnberger Versicherungscup in Germany, where Sandra Reichel is Tournament Director.Peter-Michael Reichel is also the chairman of the WTA – he could easily get the DTB a license for a long-awaited women’s tournament.
“Mr. Reichel’s offer also promises interesting and forward-looking options for the German tournament landscape, in addition to the significantly improved conditions compared to the current situation,”said DTB President Klaus – more than a hidden hint that Hamburg does not necessarily have to remain host of the German Open after more than 100 years.
The city of Hamburg, which is currently contributing 100,000 euros a year to the tournament, has to “move” and make a decisive contribution to a completely intact facility for organizing the tournament,”said Klaus.Renovation of the dilapidated roof structure above the stadium is essential:”If extensive support from the city is not ensured, we should also be open to alternative locations.
The question of the future tournament director is also open.Unlike Stitch, Reichel is likely to retreat to the position of the host – and possibly Stitch will offer the job.And Boris Becker, Head of Men’s Tennis in the DTB, would probably not say no. He is the most important name in German tennis.