The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior subsidizes the floodlight system in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen ski stadium with up to 70 percent. For a long time it was fought with a view to New Year's ski jumping. As mayor, Dr. Sigrid Meierhofer for the project. Others have to implement it.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Dr. Sigrid Meierhofer is gone. Since May 1st she is no longer Mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We are happy about farewell gifts. Logical. About the Golden Badge of Honor. About the title former mayor. About the warm words and colorful flowers. Most of all, she gave out a present just before her last day at work. Not a small one. It is worth 1.4 million euros. The new council and the new boss just have to accept it. And put money on top. Then the ski stadium gets a floodlight system.
Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann personally signed the letter to Meierhofer, which announces the positive news. His house provides funds for the project in the supplementary budget 2019/20. Said 1.4 million euros or a maximum of 70 percent of the total eligible expenditure.
Michael Maurer hears it - and remains silent on the phone. The president of SC Partenkirchen, organizer of the New Year ski jumping, has been concerned with the subject for years. He needs the system to be able to implement the major sporting event with around 20,000 spectators a year on site and an audience of millions on TV if there are delays due to the weather and the second round only begins at dusk. After a long standstill in the floodlight case, this longed-for promise from the Bavarian government finally comes - and Maurer is speechless. Because he hears about it for the first time in a Tagblatt conversation. Meierhofer hadn't taught him.
The letter had landed on her desk shortly before the council meeting. So she immediately informed the public under “Announcements” - “the letter was still warm”. She sees no problem in this. "Mr. Maurer doesn't pay anything either."
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It's no secret that the two aren't best friends. Most recently, Maurer claimed - shortly before the election - that there was no approval for the renovation of the ski stadium. Even the word "black building" came up. But the government took the wind out of his sails. All right, she decided. It wasn't Maurer's first criticism of the ex-mayor, but it was one of the most violent. It does not matter. First of all, the focus is on the message itself. And, says Maurer, when he finds the language, it is "of course very, very gratifying".
The federal government will cancel participation in April 2019
And: “It doesn't happen by accident,” emphasizes Meierhofer. This indicates her personal commitment to the system. It started with a less than pleasant message from Berlin a year ago. She buried the variant that Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder, then Finance Minister, had brought into play when jumping in New Year's Eve 2018: the one-third solution. About a third of the costs - at the time, it was assumed that one million euros - the Free State, another third the federal government, the rest the market. But the covenant jumped off. According to his own statement, Meierhofer asked. The answer was no. So the mayor wrote the next letter. To Joachim Herrmann. A CSU politician. Of which she, the SPD mayor, thinks a lot. You got to know and appreciate each other.
More on the subject: Floodlight system for the ski stadium: Federal government does not pay - is New Year's jumping at risk?
Without government funding, she made it clear to the minister, the municipality could not afford a floodlight system. You need help. To secure New Year's ski jumping. And for other events. Because if, "then we make it clever". The aim is to create a facility that optimally illuminates the entire stadium, not just the hill area. Meierhofer says that this was a prerequisite for financial resources.
Start of construction unclear
For Meierhofer, the environmental concept also falls into the "clever" category. The new system will be equipped with LEDs. It is significantly more expensive, but the energy consumption is much lower. The higher expenses can be recouped through a lower electricity bill.
The precautions have been taken: In the course of the stadium renovation, the foundations for the masts of the floodlight system have already been laid.
© Kornatz
The LED technology and general cost increases explain the two million euros that are calculated for the system. Twice as much as originally. As of January 1, 2019, there was already an amount of EUR 1.5 million in the room. The Free State will remain committed, Herrmann assured during his visit. Probably also the federal government, the interior minister assumed. It turned out differently.
Forget everything. Maurer, who claims part of the success for himself - "we pushed it forward" - prefers the "Bavarian solution" anyway.
How long does it take for the floodlight system to be built? Meierhofer makes no prediction. Too much uncertainty. For example, how the tender is going. And first of all how the municipal council reacts. He has to vote in favor of construction and expenditure of around 600,000 euros. The technical, underground precautions were taken in the course of the stadium renovation. Everything else "is no longer in my hands". Meierhofer only says what she would do as a mayor: step on the gas. Use the offer. "It's great." A nice present at the end.
