Bergische HC will no longer be able to host games in the Klingenhalle in Solingen in the future. The leadership of the Bundesliga handball team is stunned by the situation.
“You really slept through the Bundesliga. It was dying by installments,” criticized BHC boss Jörg Föste in an interview with Sport Bild. According to the 62-year-old, the culprits are quickly found: “Politics and administration have negligently and with their eyes wide open let the site fall into disrepair.”
The message that accompanies the decision is fatal: “You give the handball stronghold seal of quality – especially at the time of the boom in this media-effective sport. In terms of city marketing, that’s a kind of oath of disclosure.”
The blade hall in Solingen was opened in 1973. Since then, hardly any modernization measures have been taken at the venue. According to Föste, the decline of the hall was “continuously progressing”. For example, the sanitary facilities had to be closed last season due to legionella.
In the meantime, the hall no longer meets the current requirements. “Because of the introduction of the video proof for the new season, a review area has to be created. But that can’t be done in the Klingenhalle without losing 150 seats,” explained Föste.
“With the Mitsubishi Electric Halle and the PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, as well as the Wuppertal Uni-Halle and the Klingenhalle, we had four home venues. However, our new television partner Dyn can equip a maximum of three halls with a permanent camera,” explained the BHC boss.
His criticism of the city of Solingen is clear: “In 27 years of Bundesliga handball, it has not been possible to adapt the infrastructure to the requirements. Instead, they prefer to plan what feels like the 40th artificial turf pitch for an eight-league club.”
Accordingly, the Bundesliga handball team feels let down: “We have been in dialogue with everyone. But we didn’t really succeed in giving politics and administration access to professional sport.”
Solingen’s Lord Mayor Tim Kurzbach spoke from politics. “The hall dates from 1973, needs renovation of over 20 million euros, and the capacity is limited to around 2,500 seats and cannot be expanded. It meets the requirements of the handball league in terms of capacity, television suitability and catering options less and less,” he clarified.
However, the Lord Mayor raised hopes, since according to him, private investors are interested in the construction and operation of a multi-purpose hall in Solingen.
For the time being, however, no Bundesliga games will take place in Solingen. In the coming season, Bergische HC will initially only play its home games in the Unihalle in Wuppertal and in Düsseldorf in the Mitsubishi Electric Halle.
2023-07-19 18:01:27
#Bundesliga #Zoff #Dying #installments
