Actually everything was clear. The Munich Ravens announced that they will play their home games in their inaugural season in the European League of Football at Sportpark Unterhaching. Local politicians, however, have their doubts.
- Lease agreement provides for use only for football
- Only 18 “spectator-intensive” home games allowed
- Time is of the essence: Home game opener on June 4th
Evi Karbaumer, leader of the Greens in Unterhaching, refers to the right of use. “The purpose of the lease is the game and practice operation for various football and youth teams of the Unterhachinger clubs as well as the operation of the restaurant,” Karbaumer is from Mercury quoted. Since the football club SpVgg Unterhaching does not own the stadium, it is bound by the lease agreement and this requires written approval from the owner, in this case the municipality of Unterhaching, for the sublease. In addition, the lease agreement only covers soccer and not football activities.
Mayor Wolfgang Panzer of the SPD agrees with Karbaumer’s objection. In addition, according to a noise report, only 18 home games of the game association are allowed each year, which are considered “spectator-intensive”. The regional football league has an average of almost 2,000 spectators at its home games this season. If this number is already sufficient as a spectator intensive, how many spectators should the Munich Ravens attract to their home games in the stadium?
The Munich Ravens have landed… 🏟️ The Sportpark Unterhaching is our home stadium 💪💪. Secure your season ticket now with many advantages: https://t.co/wtGb1dLrJZ#munichravens #thedarkflock #ELF23 @ELF_Official pic.twitter.com/w1mNdzJlJT
— Munich Ravens (@MunichRavens) February 12, 2023
The question of ownership should actually already be clarified, because in 2020 the sale of the stadium to SpVgg was approved. The proceeds of 3.3 million euros are already included in the municipal budget. But now of all times Manfred Schwabl, president of the former Bundesliga soccer team, has spoken to him BR granted a “liquidity bottleneck”. This is probably one of the reasons why income from the sublease to the Ravens would have been very convenient for the football club. The situation is extremely unfortunate for the footballers. Municipal committees will only deal with the problems surrounding the stadium in March. Meanwhile, the Ravens’ first home game is scheduled for June 4th ran should be transferred. Whether it will actually take place in Unterhaching is questionable. The Raiders Tirol are actually guests.
