Patrick Scheiber/imago images
Indoor children’s gymnastics festival at TG 1837 Hanau a. V. (March 7, 2020)
In recent months, he has had to guide numerous curious people from near and far around the grounds of his sports club in Hanau, says President Rüdiger Arlt. The club’s own sports campus was opened at the beginning of 2024. On a good 30,000 square meters there is a three-field hall, course rooms, a cafeteria, a conference room and a music booth, the office and storage areas. Everything under one roof. There are facilities for track and field athletes, archers, beach volleyball and handball as well as three tennis courts. An ensemble that arouses general interest, not least because of its origins. No one from the sports club scene has ever set up a similar million-dollar project on a voluntary basis. The Hanauer Turngemeinde (TG) is a real exception.
He knows of “nothing comparable,” says Arlt. Of course he is proud. The head of the project group, consisting of 15 club members who invested thousands of hours of their free time in the campus, also knows that the “pilot project” cannot be a typical way to deal with the dilapidated sports facility infrastructure. But the “Hanau Model” proves this much: If the local conditions allow it and clubs, local politicians and schools pull together vigorously to the benefit of everyone, great things can happen.
At the beginning of the beautiful story there are sports facilities that are ready for demolition and at least in need of renovation. According to a report, the renovation of the Jahn sports halls, the sporting home of TG members since the 1960s, would have cost around eleven million euros. A new building was definitely needed, that was decided by 2018 at the latest. The city and the club were looking for a location, and after a few round-ups, the club’s own property appeared to be the best choice. Also because your own reason could be included in the bill as a collateral. This will amount to a total of 15.7 million euros by 2041. 14.3 million euros for the building, 1.4 million euros for the outdoor sports facilities.
The local savings bank took on the lion’s share of financing with 12.3 million euros over a term of 18 years and an interest rate of 1.27 percent. “When he thinks about these conditions, it might still bring a few tears to the director’s eyes,” Arlt teases. The man can console himself doubly. Although the bank hardly earned anything from the investment, the new sports campus officially bears its name and it has also provided a useful service to the entire city. The municipality’s financing part: it guarantees the loan and provides 1.5 million euros. The Main-Kinzig district contributed 930,000 euros and the state of Hesse 200,000 euros. All funding funds had also been combed through: 47,200 euros from a climate protection fund flowed into covered parking spaces for 56 bicycles. There are 58 car parking spaces on the site, all of which are not subsidized.
With the sports campus, the TG members not only got an ultra-modern home with a green roof within a record-breaking construction time of one and a half years. Since opening, the gymnastics community has grown by around one thousand members within eleven months to currently have around 4,000 members. This is very good for the club’s finances and makes the borrower a reliable repayer. That will give the savings bank director peace of mind. The students of two high schools within half a kilometer are also happy about the new campus. Two fields in the large hall are reserved for their physical education lessons on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. – and an additional twelve hours per week on all three fields, preferably for the school handball team.
“Nevertheless, that still doesn’t cover the schools’ need for hall time,” says TG boss Arlt. One of the two high schools nearby has 14 fifth graders. Impressive evidence of the current influx into the suburbs east of Main-Frankfurt, which can be quickly reached by S-Bahn. Hanau now has over 100,000 inhabitants and can call itself a big city. With consequences for the aging sports facilities. They had to be used by TG members until the sports campus opened at the end of January 2024. And the Jahn Halls must remain suitable for sports. Demolition is not an option. School sports need spaces.