Heilbrunner SV wants to be a pioneer. With brand new tennis courts, which are said to be a real “revolution”. The court has many advantages. For the tennis department, it is the current highlight of a success story.
Bad Heilbrunn – The workers deserve this break. The six men have been working with excavators, rollers, shovels and rakes on the SV Bad Heilbrunn grounds for a few days now. Now they are sitting on the red artificial turf and drinking juice spritzer. The workers came especially from Weil am Rhein in the Lörrach district of Baden-Württemberg. It takes around five hours by car from there to Bad Heilbrunn. After a few minutes the men continue – after all, everything has to be finished soon.
Old tennis courts were dilapidated: SV Bad Heilbrunn is building a new one – “We’re pretty proud”
Four new tennis courts are being built in Bad Heilbrunn, which, according to department head Uwe Mertens, will be a real “revolution”. “We want to be a pioneer,” says Mertens. “Nothing like this has ever been built in Upper Bavaria.” The club wants to ceremonially open the tennis courts on May 1st. The event will be moderated by television presenter Julia Scharf, whose children play tennis in the club. Representatives from politics and sport as well as sponsors are expected. The anticipation is palpable. Mertens: “We are pretty proud.”
At SV Bad Heilbrunn it was time for something new. Some of the clay courts were already 50 years old and were therefore “pretty finished and dilapidated,” remembers Mertens. The ground was extremely compacted and the water no longer drained properly. The lines no longer held and even the fences threatened to topple over. All these problems will be history when the new places are finished.
Hard to distinguish visually: HSV will play tennis on artificial turf with quartz sand in the future
Sustainable, easy to care for and playable all year round: This is how tennis at SV Bad Heilbrunn should be in the future. “We really wanted to do something for nature during the renovation,” explains Mertens. “Irrigation uses hundreds of liters of valuable drinking water.” This is no longer appropriate, especially in times of impending water shortages. In the future, the pitches will no longer need to be watered. The artificial turf carpet is made from recycled material. There is now gravel underneath instead of concrete, and water can easily drain away via drainage.
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You can play tennis on the new court just as well as on the old one, assures Mertens. This was tested at clubs on Lake Constance and in Würzburg that installed the same model. The artificial turf pitches are filled with red-colored quartz sand. Visually, they can hardly be distinguished from a conventional clay court. In addition, the new space can be easily “patched up”: “You can cut out the broken pieces and put them back in,” says the department head.
Complex conversions cost a lot of money – and were a risk
Despite the many advantages, the renovation was a risk for the club. “The timing wasn’t ideal for a project like this,” says club chairman Robert Rieker. Given the high inflation, he initially “had a stomach ache. “It just didn’t fit the times.” But now pride in the project predominates. Also because the club has done a lot on its own. “It was some pretty heavy demolition work. Especially removing the sand was a lot of work.”
However, the complex conversion costs a lot of money. Treasurer Daniel Schuster expects around 335,000 euros for the construction of the new tennis courts. After deducting the subsidies from the municipality and the state sports association, around 47,000 euros remain outstanding. The foundation for the floodlights will be more expensive than planned; instead of 30,000 euros, the club now estimates the costs at 60,000 euros. The HSV is therefore relying on further support from companies and businesses in the village. “To be honest, we had hoped for more support so far,” admits Mertens.
Another project is the introduction of a new platform on which members and guests can reserve the new seats. “The neighboring clubs also have the chance to play earlier,” explains Schuster.
For the tennis department it is the culmination of a success story
For the tennis department, it is the current highlight of a success story. It was its own club for 40 years. “We had fewer and fewer members and it became difficult to keep the game going,” remembers Mertens. That's why it was decided to merge it with the main club. “When we were dissolved, we only had 50 members, and many of them were passive. Now there are 120, and we are constantly increasing.” Tennis is booming in Bad Heilbrunn, especially among children.
“We have a very good turnout for tennis,” says Robert Rieker, chairman of the main club and responsible for around 1,130 members. All of this can only be achieved with many volunteers. A special feature at HSV: Children and young people up to the age of 18 do not have to pay a department fee in addition to the fee for the main club. Rieker: “That sets us apart from other sports clubs in the region.”
(vfi)