This multi-million dollar purchase has long been at the top of Garmisch-Partenkirchen's wish list: Now the local council has decided to build a floodlight system in the Olympic ski stadium with state funding.
An investment not only for New Year's ski jumping, but also for other major events.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- A letter from Munich brought the breakthrough this spring: Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) assured the Garmisch-Partenkirchen market that the desired floodlight system for the ski stadium would be funded with up to 70 percent and a maximum of 1.4 million euros - a generous support.
Large majority in the local council
Now the local council gave the green light: In the most recent meeting, the committee approved the construction project with a large majority.
With this, not only the large Olympic hill should receive lighting suitable for training and competitions, but the entire stadium.
With this new infrastructure, the historic sports facility, so the underlying idea, would also be better usable for other major events.
We are talking about sports and cultural events, for example.
The whole thing has its price, of course: the total costs in the room are around 2.25 million euros.
The building owner is the municipality.
Mayor Elisabeth Koch (CSU) appealed urgently to local politicians, in view of the lavish subsidies that the Free State is promising to get nailed in.
“We now have to grab the funding.
Otherwise it's around the corner, "said the town hall chief.
"We can't refuse that," said Andreas Grasegger (Bayernpartei).
If you say no now, you risk the project being further delayed.
The Skiclub Partenkirchen (SCP), the organizer of the New Year's ski jumping, has been dealing with this topic for many years.
The traditional club needs the system to implement the major sporting event with around 20,000 viewers on site every year and an audience of millions on TV, even if there are delays due to the weather and the second round only begins at dusk.
Floodlights are now standard and are required by the FIS, reports SCP President Michael Maurer, who was a guest at the meeting.
Without this technology there is a risk of losing the status as a World Cup location.
In addition, Maurer explains, it is about creating optimal conditions for TV broadcasting.
Because: "We don't always have picture-perfect weather."
Seven to eight masts are necessary
The sports official is satisfied with the political course - and hopes that the floodlight system will be installed next year and that the New Year's ski jumping will shine in a new light on January 1, 2022.
Maurer reckons with seven to eight masts, each around 15 meters high.
These are to be equipped with LED technology.
“This is much more economical.
And you can control them better, ”says Maurer, describing the advantages.
In this way, the brightness can be regulated as required.
"And the light is more pleasant."
But not only approval can be heard from the ranks of the municipal council.
The floodlights are necessary, says SPD parliamentary group leader Michael Simon.
Only he would have wished for a "open-ended" discussion.
He, so Simon further, has the fear that the municipality will be asked to pay more than originally assumed in the event of a cost increase.
After all, the Free State's share is capped.
Peppi Braun (Greens), however, has a completely different objection.
First, in his opinion, the contracts between the municipality, SC Partenkirchen, the Olympic base and other actors should be regulated.
So far, complains Braun, it is not exactly clear who has what responsibilities, obligations and rights.
There have been plans for optimal lighting for a long time.
It was actually supposed to be built during the construction of the new ski jump - groundbreaking was in 2007 - but then fell victim to the red pen.
Most recently, there was talk of 1.5 million euros in costs - a sum that an expert had determined in the Meierhofer era.
However, this calculation apparently only related to the floodlights for the ski jump.
