Fans push for Grünwalder Stadion revamp

Article posted by Coliseum, February 24^th, 2021

Image: TSV 1860 Muenchen

There is a glimmer of hope for reconstruction of the historic Grünwalder Stadion in the German City of Munich with fans of football club TSV 1860 Munich recently publishing a possible renovation schedule beginning April 14^th, 2021, on its fan portal, Loewenmagazin.

TSV 1860 Munich is a sports club based in Munich, Germany. After the 2016-17 seasons, the club’s football team was relegated from the 2. Bundesliga. Their home facility is the 15,000-capacity Grünwalder Stadion.

Founded in 1911, the iconic football stadium owned by the City of Munich slipped from staging the 2. Bundesliga, the second division of the professional football leagues in Germany, to the third tier 3. Bundesliga, as it could no longer meet the standards for the second flight.

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Loewenmagazin stated that in January 2019, the City had commissioned Frankfurt-based planning office Albert Speer + Partner (architect in Frankfurt, Germany) to conduct feasibility study for modernization of the venue and possible increase in capacity.

Albert Speer + Partner proposed the maximum capacity as 18,105 places and came up with two entrances. A basic approach to retain the 15,000-seat capacity was compared to the expansion approach with over 18,000 spectators. In the first scenario, the stadium would still only hold 15,000 seats, but its quality would be upgraded. In the end the expansion approach was favored.

However, it was not until August 2020 that the City of Munich received a positive building permit following which all the suggestions in the feasibility report were declared approvable.

Specifically, the capacity increase was given the nod as permissible under building planning law.

Despite the results of the preliminary decision procedure being publicly presented to the sports committee in December 2020, everything came to a standstill.

The Loewenmagazin reports that the next step would be for the Department for Education and Sport to put up a proposal to the City Council that would serve as the outline for the possible upgradation of the stadium.

The status of the submission is not known till date. The pros and cons are still being worked out. Discussions are still on as regards modifications and the costs and the most important of all – whether the Grünwalder Stadion should retain its capacity of 15,000 seats or welcome 3,000 more spectators in the future.

The 64,000 dollar question is whether the revamp and expansion will upgrade Grünwalder Stadium to a 2. Bundesliga stadium.

The lengthy procedure entails further discussions in the sports committee once the submission has been completed and a plenary meeting if it is approved to be financially relevant.

According to the fan portal, the presentation of the variants in the sports committee is planned for April 14^th, 2021.

As per Loewenmagazin, the decision by the City of Munich should be made in summer 2021 at the latest. An unresolved issue between TSV 1860 Munich and the City is in regard to costs and rent. The City of Munich has asked for a declaration of intent from TSV 1860 Munich.

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