Nobody likes to deliver bad news. But Grafing’s mayor Christian Bauer (CSU) cannot avoid it. “The Stadthalle was originally supposed to start again in October. So everything was scheduled.” But times are difficult. “There is great uncertainty everywhere as to how the craftsmen are available and how the necessary parts can be delivered.” Some of them weren’t there until the very end, so the October schedule can no longer be maintained.
From a renovation perspective, the Grafinger Stadthalle has had a wild year and a half. Only the political decision for the so-called minimal renovation plus, i.e. new ventilation system plus new barrier-free entrance area plus new sanitary facilities. Then the postponed start of renovation and the splitting of the work into two construction phases. The first could still be accommodated while the operation was more or less ongoing. For the second, currently running, the hall was completely closed.
Parts for the new ventilation system arrived late in Grafing
In addition, the renovation budget suddenly had to be increased from 1.4 to 2.5 million euros – an increase of almost 80 percent. Thanks to extensive subsidies, the net additional costs are around 400,000 euros, according to the mayor. And now parts for the ventilation system also arrived late in Grafing. That’s why nothing came of the reopening in October, explains Bauer. The new plan reads: “We are pushing the commissioning to the end of the year.”
While Bauer is telling the story, Stadthalle director Sebastian Schlagenhaufer is just tightening the last knots of a charming temporary solution. “Culture on Tour” is her name – and, if you will, the culture manager makes a virtue out of necessity: Between September 15th and November 10th, all the established cabaret formats will move from the tower room of the town hall to selected venues in downtown Grafing. “We’d rather move it now on a plannable basis than suddenly start rotating in the fall or be forced to cancel,” says Schlagenhaufer, describing the underlying idea. Although he sees the proverbial laurels for this flexible interim solution less in himself: “It all worked out really uncomplicated with the hosts and those responsible.”
Josef Ametsbichler is again presenting rarities from his shellac record collection, this time in the new Hörschmiede am Urtelbach.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
The “Culture on Tour” series starts with a pub quiz in the Allegria wine bar (September 15), journalist Michael Skasa deals with the writer Erich Mühsam in the Grafing wine house (September 22), the science slam is a guest in Gallery 18 ( October 6th) and the mixed show will be in the Kastenwirt (October 13th). As “Der Jazzhörer”, Josef Ametsbichler plays rarities made of shellac in the Hörschmiede am Urtelbach (October 27th), which has not even opened yet, and the first round of “Kultur on Trip”. Will these new collaborations remain a one-off story? Mayor Bauer at least does not want to commit himself yet. “If this is successful, we want to continue in the future.”
First of all, however, the focus in the town hall is on the construction work in the town hall. “The craftsmen are here, and the parts for the ventilation system have also arrived,” says Bauer. “But sometimes there can also be further delays because of very simple things like switches in the stage electronics.”
Because of the rising maintenance costs, the SPD advocates a new building
In any case, the city council does not need to rush the debate on how to proceed with the Stadthalle in the long term, even if an SPD application is currently on the table that envisages a new building at a new location. The recycling center site, less than 150 meters from the previous town hall as the crow flies, is “excellently suitable” for this. And because of the ever-increasing costs caused by the almost 40-year-old town hall, such a plan would be cheaper in the long run, according to the SPD.
But even when the relocation of the recycling center to Schammach has been completed, the site cannot be replanned immediately. “The recycling center is in the flood area,” explains Bauer. “In order to build there, the flood measures on the Urtel would first have to be completed.” Although they are already under way, it will in all likelihood take a few more years before they are completed. In any case, a small partial application by the Social Democrats, on which the building authority is currently working, should play a role in the decision-making process for the area: a comprehensive forecast of the future maintenance costs of the Stadthalle – in order to be able to compare these ultimately possible new building costs.
“Culture on Tour”: cabaret events in various locations in downtown Grafing from September 15th to November 10th. All information and tickets are available at https://www.stadthalle-grafing.de as well as in the bookshops in Grafing, Aßling and Kirchseeon.