It is gradually getting dark in the municipal stadium on Grünwalder Strasse, commonly known as the “Sechzger Stadium”, because TSV 1860 Munich plays its home games there. The floodlight system built in 2013 is no longer enough to illuminate the football matches that are played there in the evenings.
As early as 2020, the illuminance level of 800 lux required for the 3rd league was undercut for the first time, and despite a repair, it was no longer as bright as it should during the most recent measurement at the beginning of 2021. So the lights have to be replaced, and because the lions started to move up again last season, the floodlights should also be upgraded for use in the 2nd Bundesliga. The German Football League (DFL), as the licensor, even requires an illuminance of 1200 lux.
The Sports Committee agreed to the request made by the Department for Education and Sports on Wednesday without further debate. The renovation of the floodlights can therefore begin immediately.
The matter is urgent, the third division will start playing in two and a half weeks, the Lions will receive the relegated second division Kickers Würzburg on Saturday afternoon, July 24th. The football professionals will probably not be in the dark as long as they play football during the day, but the light must shine no later than August 25, a Wednesday: An evening game against Viktoria Köln is scheduled.
A budget of almost 1.2 million euros is available for the retrofitting, the money has already been saved in other areas: 457,000 euros were once planned for the EM 2020, but were not needed because the supporting program was canceled. And the remaining almost 720,000 euros come from so-called “household leftovers”, which were once intended “for the procurement of movable assets”, but were also not requested.
The new floodlights will of course not only benefit the professionals of TSV 1860 Munich, but also the other teams that are playing on Grünwalder Straße: the league competitor Türkgücü Munich, who wants to play up to twelve competitive games there, as well as the second team of FC Bayern, who was relegated to the regional league. The neighborhood in Giesing also benefits from the planned investment: With the help of the new system, the light can be better regulated and dimmed; Dispersion and emissions are to be reduced, and so is energy consumption.
In return, however, the city will in future demand a “normal market rent”. The resolution also includes an increase in the minimum rent. For the third division, it was 2500 euros per game, plus a flat rate of 1000 euros if the floodlights were used. These amounts are adjusted to a minimum of 10,000 euros basic rent, 2,500 euros for the floodlights and a flat 5,000 euros for ancillary and operating costs. This corresponds to what is required in comparable stadiums in the 3rd division, argued City School Councilor Florian Kraus in the vote. There is therefore no protest from TSV 1860, President Robert Reisinger regards the regulation as “fair and appropriate”. Especially since regional league teams get away a little cheaper. Overall, the city expects the rent increase to generate around 234,000 euros more per season.