Status: 10/01/2022 10:09 am
Floodlights, heated halls, hot showers: around 90,000 sports clubs face massive cost increases in winter. Will the energy crisis become an existential crisis?
The consequences of the high energy prices are noticeable, also in sports clubs. To be precise: It’s three degrees colder in the halls of TSV Schott Mainz. Even greater savings in heating costs are hardly possible, says Till Pleuger, manager of the club, which, with almost 4,000 members, is one of the largest mass sports providers in Rhineland-Palatinate. “Even during sports, the halls have to be heated to a minimum. We can’t just turn off the showers either. Our scope is limited.”
The Mombacher Turnverein 1861, another large sports club in Mainz, has a similar view. In order to reduce electricity and gas costs, a change of energy provider would be an option, says CEO Mathias Grünewald. In the past few years, this was a way to save costs – but those days are over. So far, the club has been paying 21,000 euros a year for the gas used to heat two sports halls. A contract change would not help now, on the contrary: with the competition, five times the price is due, says Grünewald. “That would be more than 100,000 euros a year. That would be crazy and impossible to manage.”
Will the energy crisis become an existential crisis?
The energy crisis threatens to become an existential crisis for many of the 90,000 sports clubs in Germany, because the financial consequences of the pandemic continue to affect them. “Half of the members we lost during Corona have returned – the other half have not,” says club manager Pleuger. TSV Schott Mainz made a loss of 300,000 euros due to a lack of membership fees and course cancellations. They would not have survived without government help, says Pleuger. The situation at the Mombach gymnastics club is similar: Mathias Grünewald explains that a six-figure amount was lost simply because of the cancellation of major events, such as carnival.
The concerns of the clubs are even higher because of the energy costs than because of the restrictions caused by the pandemic, summarizes Christian Siegel, department head for mass sports at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). “We get calls for help from clubs and state sports associations every day,” says Siegel. The need is particularly great for swimming and ice sports clubs, whose sports facilities require a lot of energy. The DOSB appeals to all clubs to save at least 20 percent energy and has drawn up a catalog of measures for this. These include: switching off nonessential electrical appliances, insulating the heating and hot water pipes, converting to LED lighting.
Reserves have been used up
The lighting systems, for example for the hockey field and the athletics stadium, are an important point, says Schott-Mainz manager Pleuger. His club switched to LED a few months ago. “But we won’t save any money because of the rise in electricity prices,” he adds. “And I don’t see how we could save an additional 20 percent in energy now.”
The board of directors of the Grünewald sees another problem here. During the pandemic, the Mombacher Turnverein, like many others, almost completely used up its reserves. The club is now stuck in the renovation backlog. In order to save energy in the medium and long term, for example, the sports halls need to be renovated to improve energy efficiency. “The municipalities sometimes offer support programs for which the clubs need their own funds,” says Grünewald. “But we can’t raise these own funds.”
Many gyms are in need of energetic renovation. But who should pay for that?
Image: SWR
Does the federal government forget mass sport?
The DOSB therefore sees a need for action by the federal government. As a boost after the pandemic restrictions, 500 million euros were made available for mass sport. Now the sport is in danger of being forgotten, Siegel fears: “The third relief package from the federal government does not even recognize the existential threat to the clubs.” A support fund is needed for clubs and the municipalities, which in turn provide the sports facilities for most of the clubs. The conversion to renewable energies, such as solar modules on club premises, must also be promoted by politicians, Siegel demands.
Club manager Pleuger also wants more government support. Membership fees have already been increased because of the pandemic. The additional costs could no longer be passed on. At the Mombacher Turnverein 1861, Grünewald is considering a moderate increase in prices, which is due every three years anyway. “But we could also do ourselves a disservice if members resign.”