Bayer 04 racing against time on campus project

Image: Kadawittfeldarchitektur and Bayer Leverkusen

The Bundesliga team Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been planning the construction of a campus for aeons. The time pressure is now building up on the top-flight due to the upcoming construction of the new highway which runs directly past their residence – the BayArena in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

‘kicker’ stated that the top-notch club’s image will take a serious beating if its campus construction plans in Monheim in North Rhine-Westphalia come unstuck.

The Bayer 04 Leverkusen, commonly known as the Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, and plays its home matches at the BayArena.

The 30,210-capacity BayArena is a football stadium in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which has been the home ground of the Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen since 1958.

‘kicker’ further stated that the campus construction plans of the Leverkusen cannot be downplayed. The reigning double winners plan to build a campus with 12.5 football pitches in Monheim, 8.5 kilometers from the BayArena. The price tag of the campus will stand at circa €120 million and it will be a shared home for all of the club’s elite teams, the Men’s and Women’s Bundesliga teams, and the youth teams.

After over 30 years without silverware the Leverkusen won their first Bundesliga title and their second DFB Pokal (Germany’s premier domestic football cup competition) in 2024 becoming the first German team to win the league or domestic double unbeaten while setting the European record for consecutive unbeaten competitive games (51).

Currently, the ‘Die Werkself’s’ training facilities are spread across 17 locations. The Bayer 04, which has been trying to build a campus for years and has examined 70 locations so far, including expert opinions, has so far failed to zero in on a suitable location. The club finally wants to finalize a site for building its campus in a manner befitting of a top club in Germany and Europe.

Explained Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Chairman, “The other top-flight clubs like the FC Bayern Munich have long built a campus of their own. Once the campus plans comes to fruition it will prove to be a leg-up for the Leverkusen’s growth trajectory and help them grow on all fronts.”

The plan is in place but needs to be approved. The Bayer 04 is racing against time. As part of the expansion of the A1 and A3 motorways near Leverkusen which is scheduled to begin in 2031, the stilt-built highway that runs directly past the BayArena must be replaced. The stilts will be moved 12 meters further toward the stadium. The result: The parking spaces and (the Fire Department) access roads will be blocked at least during the construction period.

In order to comply with the German Football League (DFL’s) licensing requirements the Bayer will then have to create new parking spaces and access roads at the three professional training grounds at the stadium which translates to the fact that these pitches will no longer be available for training from mid-2029.

The Bayer 04 Campus, the club’s new home, will have to be financed without public funds. In addition to the 12.5 soccer fields, one of which would be covered, several buildings are being planned for the 450 permanent employees. A small wooded area in the center of the campus, bordered by a jogging track, would be retained. The Bayer 04 aims to position itself at par with the top-of-the-heap clubs like the Premier League teams Manchester City F.C., the Liverpool F.C. (UK), or the Bundesliga team FC Bayern Munich (Germany).

If the campus is to be completed on time work in Monheim would have to begin by early 2027 at the latest. The time until then would likely be entirely needed for carrying out the necessary studies and the entire plan approval exercise. The Bayer 04 therefore needs a clear picture on the same.

The Catch: The 22-hectare site planned for the project, opposite the Bayer Crop Science headquarters, already belongs to the Bayer AG (a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company), but in the run-up to the local elections this Fall approval for the campus construction is anything but a given. The various political parties and a citizens’ initiative for the preservation of Monheim’s green spaces are opposed to the project. Nevertheless, the Bayer 04 remains confident that they will get the nod for campus construction.

The coming months are crucial for the Bayer 04. If the campus project does not get greenlighted it will weigh down on the club’s growth.

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