Delays and Debates Surrounding Construction of Schwarzsee Campus Triple Sports Hall

The original plan was for the new triple sports hall on the Schwarzsee campus to be completed by the end of 2019. Last Friday, however, it became clear: the expansion of the campus was once again delayed.

This is because the Grand Council of Freiburg has postponed the debate on the decree on an additional credit obligation until the November session. The 18 million franc loan is intended for the construction of the new triple hall and the renovation of existing buildings.

Discussions and search for alternatives

“We are not prepared to make good decisions today,” said the middle councilor Hubert Dafflon, representing all the parliamentary group leaders of the council, last Friday – the last day of the October session – in the council. People would like to have more time and a better basis for decision-making around the business and the emerging discussions. The canton should even provide a business plan for the Schwarzsee campus for the next ten years, demanded middle councilor Bruno Boschung.

The latest discussion revolves around the canton’s latest proposal to create an artificial turf area next to the campus. The amendment request for the artificial turf is budgeted at 1.3 million francs – a considerable sum that would be in addition to the additional credit of a good 18 million. As a reminder: initially only 7.7 million francs were earmarked for the construction of a triple sports hall.

Is this artificial turf field needed, does it make sense and is there a need for it?

The canton’s proposal is closely linked to the Schwarzsee-Schwinget and the whole thing in turn to the (delayed) expansion of the campus. After the Schwinget, the canton’s own lawn will not be usable for several weeks, depending on the weather. In mid-September it became known that the canton no longer wanted the popular major event on the campus area after 2026 – probably also because the Schwinget restricted the use of the lawn.

A newly created lawn could serve as an alternative or alternative area and thus help ensure that the Schwarzsee-Schwinget could stay in its usual place. There is great interest in this, not least in politics: forty councilors from various political camps and various cantonal regions sent a request to the State Council last Wednesday. This requires that the location of the Schwarzsee-Schwinget be recorded in a mandatory and time-limited manner.

Skepticism about the location and type of lawn

On Friday, voices were raised in the Grand Council that were generally critical of artificial turf fields. Among the critics is co-author of the order and plaffest Syndic as well as middle councilor Daniel Bürdel, who raises the question of whether there is even a need for an artificial turf field. In addition, Bürdel does not want any newly created lawn area to be in the parking lot next to the campus and for this to be reduced in size.

In Schwarzsee, which belongs to the municipality of Plaffeien, people rely on the 300 parking spaces next to the campus, especially in the winter. Bürdel also points out the ongoing local planning revision of the municipality of Plaffeien and other projects near the campus area that need to be included in the planning.

Now you have to talk to the community about whether there are other options besides campus

State Councilor and Sports Director Romain Collaud tells RadioFr. open to finding solutions. “Now you have to talk to the community about whether there are other options besides the campus,” said Collaud. Specifically, alternatives would also have to be discussed, such as creating a lawn on a field that belongs to the municipality of Plaffeien.

Next month will show who will make which compromises and concessions. Further, possibly months-long discussions have begun between the canton as the owner of the campus and parking lot, the municipality of Plaffeien and the Grand Council commissions and have the potential to delay the expansion of the campus even further.

What has (not) happened so far

It would be far from the first time that the expansion of the Schwarzsee campus was delayed. At the beginning of November 2016, the Grand Council approved a loan of 7.7 million francs for the construction of a triple sports hall on part of the parking lot next to the Schwarzsee campus. The first delay occurred due to discussions between the state and the municipality of Plaffeien about the location of the triple hall.

The fact that we had to plan the new hall in a different location took more time.

It was finally agreed that the new hall should not be built in the parking lot next to the campus, but instead of an old hall on the campus. In order to maintain protected use during the construction of the new hall, a covered outdoor sports field was planned. “The fact that we had to plan the new hall in a different location took a little more time,” says cantonal architect Michel Graber.

The completion of the hall, originally planned for the end of 2019, was postponed due to a vacant cantonal architect position. The competition for the construction of the hall was finally announced in mid-July 2019, with the aim of it being completed in the summer of 2022. At the end of 2019 it became known that the jury wanted to take more time to evaluate the projects received.

At the opening in the summer of 2020, State Councilor and cantonal construction director Jean-Francois Steiert was optimistic that the new hall should be ready by the end of 2022; he did not want to hear a 2023, said Steiert. In November 2021, the number 2024 made the rounds for the first time. At the time, Christian Zeis, architect and responsible project manager at the Freiburg Building Authority, cited the covered outdoor sports field as the reason for the further delay. It took time to find a solution for the temporary space in the inner courtyard of the campus.

According to the draft decree passed at the beginning of July 2023 for the additional 18 million francs required, the new triple hall should be put into operation in early summer 2025. The question arises as to whether, given the recent developments surrounding the creation of an (artificial) turf area and the demands of a business plan for the Schwarzsee campus, there could be a 26-year deadline for the opening of the new triple hall.