Reconstruction of the stadium on Gellertstrasse: City council approves additional measures

At the same time, the city council confirmed that the 1.67 million euros required for the additional measures will be financed from key investment allocations and funds for the municipal swimming pool, which cannot be utilised this year. The funds for the municipal swimming pool are to be included in the budget again in 2016.

The details of the decision:

Urban upgrading of the surrounding area

The outdoor facilities, which were only considered with a very simple surface paving in the tender for the construction of a football stadium, are to be upgraded. The new car parks to be created currently have a sand-slurry surface. The existing car park in front of the main building is already asphalted and surrounded by old walls facing the street. A higher-quality design of the new car parks, for example with partial asphalting and green areas, not only means a harmonisation with the new stadium, but also increases trafficability and usability and helps to reduce maintenance costs many times over in the long term.

The qualitative upgrading of the stadium's surroundings will also increase the positive urban development effects for Sonnenberg, which can already be seen today: In recent months, a private building owners' association has invested two million euros in a building on Heinrich-Schütz-Straße, which is to be converted into an age-appropriate residential project. Meanwhile, after years of unsuccessful searching, an investor has been found for the Esche-Stift directly next to the stadium who wants to partially preserve and convert the listed building.

Updated requirements and experience from previous use

At the same time, the conversion during ongoing match operations and the use of already completed areas offer the opportunity to carry out optimisations within the structure that would otherwise only have been identified after the stadium had been put into operation. This applies, for example, to the implementation of police security requirements, which can reduce the number of stewards and emergency services in the future through structural measures. In addition, the DFB's media guidelines have changed in the time since the award date, meaning that adjustments must be made to the current requirements that are decisive for licensing. For example, the space required for the location of the camera on the halfway line has increased by a third from four to six metres. This is to be taken into account by moving the camera location to a balcony construction under the roof of the stands.

Events and marketing

Rooms are to be created in the main building, for example with partition walls and multimedia connections, which can be used for events, seminars or corporate events. Private parties such as weddings or children's birthday parties could also be organised, as is often the case in other stadiums. This segment would complement the city's current offerings. Open-air events could also be organised in or around the stadium.

The additional marketing opportunities not only create further identification, but also offer marketing opportunities for Chemnitzer FC, which is obliged to pay a revenue-based lease and therefore additional income for the club also means additional income for the city.

Financing

The additional costs for all proposed measures total around €1.875 million. The total budget for the stadium remodelling of €25.24 million currently still includes €208,500. The additional 1.67 million euros ultimately required will be financed as follows: 653,000 euros are available from key investment allocations from the Free State. An additional 1.01 million euros can be used from the budget for the refurbishment of technical facilities. At the moment, only the budget leftovers from 2014 have been spent on the municipal swimming pool. The budgeted funds of around €1.5 million for 2015 have not yet been utilised, meaning that the specialist department believes that it can no longer realistically be used this year due to the current state of planning and the necessary lead time. These funds will be utilised this year with a new estimate in the 2016 budget.

The draft resolution can be found in the citizen information system at www.chemnitz.de.