It has been a good six years since the city took over the former Hermann von Siemens Sports Park. At the time, the act triggered a wave of euphoria among clubs and initiatives in the south of Munich, as they had been promised a public sports and green space, a kind of leisure park for everyone. In fact, embarrassingly little has happened since then; the 13.6 hectare area on Siemensallee in Obersendling lies largely unused.
The project is involved in complex “planning processes,” the city administration announced in a meeting document. The responsible departments are constantly working on an “overall concept”, are laboriously pushing forward a development plan process and the integration of the sports park into a landscape protection area (“Isar-Solln Landscape Park”). At least a few additional uses should be permitted by next summer at the latest, i.e. 2024.
In order to ensure that “sports-related measures” are to be taken in the foreseeable future, critical inquiries at citizens’ meetings, initiatives by the Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Forstenried-Fürstenried-Solln district committee and a proposal from the SPD/Volt city council group from July with the heading ” “It must finally move forward” contributed to this. This includes the renovation of a natural grass playing field for use as a soccer field, the improvement of a roller skating area, the creation of a calisthenics and bouldering facility as well as beach volleyball fields.
Some dismantling and maintenance measures should be carried out fairly promptly. The fencing around the Siemens sports park will largely be removed – an old demand from local politicians. Trees that do not comply with traffic safety should be felled, buildings that are no longer needed should be demolished, and existing paths should be repaired. Numerous weathered park benches would be refurbished. The city administration is still considering a new use for the entrance building (“gatekeeper’s house”), which was recently listed as a historical monument.
In 2019, a 7.3 hectare section of the park was opened for strolling, and two years later a further two hectares were added. These green spaces and playgrounds are heavily frequented by residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, as is the basketball court, which has since been upgraded. The future of the Siemens Tennis Club (STC) and its complex of courts and halls is secured. The STC will be separated from the overall concept and will have a completely independent life in the future.
The implementation of the core elements of the park planning remains a long way off. This includes the construction of a new triple sports hall with a grandstand, the construction of a school swimming pool and the construction of two grass playing fields, one of which has a 400-meter running track. The city treasury has already made initial reservations about financing, and there could also be complications in terms of planning law. The district committee has already made it clear what it does not want to do without under any circumstances – the school swimming pool.