What a dangerous temptation: a wonderful and traditional football stadium in the middle of the city, with a new roof for the spectators, without much additional noise for the residents. In it, a team plays that lets their supporters suffer and yet always makes them happy, almost no matter in which league.
You don’t have to be a sports romantic to warm to such a scenario – especially in a city where glamor and success count so much. How hard-hearted do you have to be if you are not happy to accept the almost 80 million euros for the renovation of the stadium on Grünwalder Straße, which the city council is likely to get under way on Wednesday?
Or should the question be: How unwise and unreasonable do you have to be to be willing to initiate such a major renovation?
Without being romantic, a different picture emerges: A city that will face enormous investments in its daily infrastructure in the next five to ten years and will incur billions of euros in debt for this, is renovating an old stadium to enable second division football to be played in it .
In previous years, she will renovate a second traditional arena, the Olympic Stadium, for a lot more money. It could also enable second division football. This city has set itself the declared goal of promoting mass sport. Not professional sports. And this city has no prospects, at least until now, that their investment in Grünwalder and thus professional football will eventually be amortized through rental income.
One user is broke, the other relegated
The situation has changed drastically since planning began. Back then, three teams jostled each other for playing time on Grünwalder Strasse, including three tenants. Now the situation is like this: One of the clubs is broke (Türkgücü Munich), one has been relegated (FC Bayern Munich Amateure), and the third (TSV 1860 Munich) is already constantly complaining about excessive rents.
The city wants to spend just under 80 million euros on this alone, if that is the case. Not for the non-profit association, but for a professional department that has left itself at the mercy of an investor who no one knows how he will behave in the future. An investor who recently wanted to build his own stadium with – seriously – a real lion enclosure.
Local politicians should and must always take into account what is burning on the hearts of the citizens. Because this irrational love for this club and this sport can also gain excessive weight. But a reasonable person could at least ask himself again: Isn’t it possible to go one size smaller when it comes to renovation? It remains a risky investment in a risk club anyway.