In the middle of Opladen is a sports facility that is underutilized and has an uncertain future, despite a long history: even in the days when Opladen was still home to a large railway repair shop, people felt the need to kick the ball their free time. This is how the Railway Sports Club (ESV) Opladen was founded in 1928.
The history of the ESV Opladen
After their shifts, workers could now play football at the Gleisdreieck sports field south of Fixheider Strasse. Over the years, the club has also expanded to include a dog, shooting and tennis department. However, the latter had to be closed in 2012. “Former members of the tennis department then founded the so-called leisure department, with which they plan excursions of various kinds. game or general social gatherings, “explains Andreas Dahl, the first president of the football department of ESV Opladen. He and Heike Matena, the vice president, have been members of the club for many years and now mourn the loss of their football department.
A men’s team was formed ten years ago and kept the department together until earlier this year. During this period there were also youth teams E and D and a women’s team. But all these associations dissolved over time. “Club life is no longer what it used to be. People no longer want to be part of a team and finding volunteers for a club is becoming more and more difficult, ”says Dahl.
The ESV Opladen sports field is rarely used.
On May 18, 2022, the ESV announced on its website that the latest team from the football department was breaking up. The men’s team has not grown, some players have aged or have established other priorities.
Great farewell party
“After our last game, there was obviously a big farewell party, where there was a lot of laughter, but of course there was also the mourning. It was really very emotional,” says Matena. presidents and two other volunteers take care of the sports facility so that at least it keeps it in good condition.
Relics of an era when football was still alive in the Opladener Gleisdreieck.
Since the site was made available by the Federal Railways Fund, private funds have also had to be invested in the maintenance of the plant in recent years. “We absolutely needed new spotlights, because otherwise you can’t play football well, of course. That’s why we have invested almost 2,500 euros in the system,” explains Dahl.
The future of the square
Today, the pitch is one of the last remaining ash fields in Leverkusen, together with the Birkenberg sports field in Opladen and the TuS Rheindorf facility. According to Dahl, this is another reason potential new members have repeatedly decided against the club, as they would always prefer an artificial turf pitch. There have already been some interested parties for the space, but so far there have been no agreements either from potential buyers or from the Federal Railways Fund.
The ESV Opladen bench is now only used by BV Wiesdorf.
When asked by “Leverkusener Anzeiger” Thorsten Oliver Morig, managing director of the Leverkusen Sports Association, cannot say that there is a lack of outdoor sports facilities: all clubs are equipped with sufficient space. The municipal facility of Birkenberg is also used, but there is no need for additional space, as all teams are catered for.
The field is currently used by the BV Wiesdorf men’s team for training and league matches. The Wiesdorfers, in turn, were finally informed of the city park’s sports field at the end of 2017.
The Federal Railways Fund does not want to exclude a sale on demand. However, there are no plans for the area. The Opladen plus district party recently supported the use of the Gleisdreieck area for a new fire station in the north, but the plan was unsuccessful.
It is important for Andreas Dahl and Heike Matena, the presidents of the no longer active football department, that their structure is reused and not neglected. They think that every free space in the city should be used, even if not necessarily as a sports hall.
