By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay may resign from his position after a failure to reach an agreement with the Hapoel Ussishkin Tel Aviv Association over key matters related to the club.
Yannay tweeted Saturday that the Israeli Winner League game of Hapoel Tel Aviv against Elitzur Netanya could be his last as club owner. He expressed disappointment over the dispute with Hapoel Ussishkin Tel Aviv Association and the persistent unresolved issues, writing that, “the strongest resistance to change comes from home leads to deep frustration and the realization in me that this is not the way to continue.”
According to Walla, there are two main problems and clauses in the arbitration award that may push Yannay to the exit door of the club unless he sees them gone. The first has to do with a “payment of 25 million shekels” to an archtect for the renovation of Schlomo Hall.
The second involves the right of veto that the Hapoel Ussishkin Tel Aviv Association has regarding the temporary move to the Menora Mivtachim arena, home to Hapoel archrival Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“I commit to a quarter of a billion shekels in renovations, and after that they decide that I am not moving. I am a businessman, it will hurt my other businesses,” Yannay told Hapoel fans, according to Walla.
Yannay has made a large investment this season with Hapoel with the goal of creating a club that can win the EuroCup and get to next season’s EuroLeague. The Tel Aviv side made a blockbuster signing with former NBA guard Patrick Beverley while adding EuroLeague-caliber players such as Bruno Caboclo and Johnathan Motley.
In November, the team hired two-time EuroLeague champion Dimitris Itoudis as head coach, offering him a very lucrative contract.
“They want me to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv with my hands tied,” Yannay also said. “Which sponsor will sign with me, who will buy seats under these conditions. I am sure that Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem will be happy that I join them, but for Israeli basketball it is good that I stay at Hapoel Tel Aviv and beat Maccabi Tel Aviv with them.”