The Geretsried ice hockey fans can now hope for a regular season opener.
As Rico Lehwald, chairman of the stadium club, announced on request, “we have found solutions to our two problems”.
Update from September 29th:
As reported, the ventilation system, which had already been running in the preseason, broke out of the blue on Tuesday last week.
This created too much humidity in the ice rink, the renovation of which is due to be completed soon.
Lehwald and his helpers used drying devices because falling drops kept causing small bumps on the ice.
Training could be started at short notice before a second defect occurred early on Saturday morning.
"For security reasons," as it was said, the ice rink was closed;
the River Rats' preparatory game against Buchloe, scheduled for Sunday, had to be canceled.
“The problems should be resolved within the next two days,” said Lehwald after a meeting with construction experts on Monday afternoon.
He hopes to have everything ready by Wednesday afternoon so that the River Rats can train in the stadium for the first time that evening.
If everything goes smoothly, both the U20 juniors could start their respective Bayernliga season on Friday against ESC Dorfen (7.30 p.m.) and the men on Sunday against TSV Erding (5.30 p.m.).
However, some preparations still have to be made, hygiene regulations initiated and building materials tidied up, especially for the River Rats match.
Lehwald: "200 spectators are allowed in the stadium, and of course we want the fans to come back to the stadium."
Original article from September 26th:
Although the ESC Geretsried had already been approved by the city and had a hygiene concept drawn up by a specialist company, the last preparation game of the River Rats had to be canceled before the start of the Bayernliga.
Another technical defect occurred early on Saturday morning.
Training and games are suspended until further notice.
Geretsried
- Those responsible, active and fans of ESC Geretsried had marked themselves red in the calendar on September 23rd.
Should the regular operation in the Heinz Schneider ice rink begin on this day with training units for the River Rats and their junior teams, school and inclusion sports.
Just the day before, however, a serious technical defect thwarted all planning.
“The ventilation system suddenly broke down late on Tuesday afternoon,” reports Markus Janka on request.
As the ESC chairman explains, circulation in the hall is no longer guaranteed: "The air is too humid, water collects under the roof and drips onto the ice, where small bumps form." The company that already does installed the ventilation system that was put into operation last season, be informed.
The stadium club, directed by Rico Lehwald, tries to maintain the ice production with the help of drying devices.
"If everything goes well, we should be able to go on the ice from Friday," says Janka.
This also worked for a short time, before another defect occurred early on Saturday morning - training and matches were suspended until further notice.
The start of training does not mean that the stadium is fully open again.
“We have the approval of the city, that is, the permit to operate a sports facility.
The final acceptance of the construction site has not yet taken place, ”explains the club boss.
In addition, they have the approval to allow 200 spectators into the stadium for home games.
The corona regulation of the Bavarian state government for so-called indoor sports provides for exactly the same number of fans.
In order to be prepared for this, the ESC had a company from Bad Wiessee create a hygiene concept that was also published on the association's website.
“We are certified, so to speak,” emphasizes Markus Janka.
The regulations range from fever measurement at the stadium entrance, personalized admission control with the help of a so-called QR code, to mandatory masking in the hall.
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ESC chairman Markus Janka hopes that his departments can use the ice rink as soon as possible.
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The plan was to play through the procedure for the River Rats' preparatory game on Sunday against ESV Buchloe.
But nothing comes of it: “The construction site hindered our planning so much that we are not yet ready with the rest of the preparations.
For security reasons, we shouldn't have let any spectators into the stadium anyway, ”said the chairman.
There are also a number of things to do in the hall, such as preparing the cabins and other rooms.
"We can only manage all of this with the help of our members," emphasizes Janka.
He hopes that by the first official Bavarian league match on October 4th - the Sunday home games have recently started at 5.30pm - everything will be in the truest sense of the word "everything in the towel".
So ice hockey can be played in front of an audience.
Also read: River Rats long for their "living room"