The energy crisis has long since caught up with the Bundesliga. The clubs are working on savings potential, and the German Football League (DFL) also wants to promote the topic of sustainability.
Turning down the undersoil heating, turning off the floodlights, cooling VIP rooms – it’s questions like these that concern professional football clubs more than ever in times of the global energy crisis. Example second division club SC Paderborn: The East Westphalians have commissioned a report on how they can operate their undersoil heating more efficiently and cost-effectively.
“We want to know whether it is possible to only run the lawn heating in certain areas, namely where there are shady areas and the sun doesn’t reach it.”, said Martin Hornberger, SCP Managing Director, of the sports show. After all, the club pays 2,000 euros per home game for heating in wintry temperatures in order to beat the frost and be able to play at all. Another 2,000 euros, because this cost factor is also likely to be significantly higher soon.
Floodlight for better TV pictures
Martin Hornberger also sees savings potential in the stadium floodlights. At least the Paderborner questions the requirement of the German Football League DFL, whether the lighting system in the stadium has to be turned on on match days in the best sunny weather just to produce better TV pictures.
At least there is in the energy sector “Huge opportunities to adjust“, says Hornberger and also mentions his club’s considerations in terms of mobility. In the future, SC Paderborn wants to offer cheaper bus trips to the stadium in combination with the admission tickets.
Martin Hornberger, Managing Director of SC Paderborn
Borussia Mönchengladbach turns down the heating
Elsewhere, work has already been done. Borussia Mönchengladbach has lowered the temperature for heated rooms by two degrees since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, the Bundesliga club told the “Rheinische Post”. Six percent of energy costs could thus be saved.
Second division team Fortuna Düsseldorf acted similarly. The operator of the Düsseldorf Arena, in consultation with the club, has decided that the temperature in the VIP boxes will be reduced by two degrees. “In the future, the promenade areas will no longer be heated, even in cold weather”the operator said to the “RP”.
Andreas Rettig: Change the schedule
Former DFL Managing Director Andreas Rettig recently called for professional football to make a significant contribution to saving energy. For Rettig it was incomprehensible “that in winter the undersoil heating and the floodlights run at full blast.” According to Rettig, an oil-powered lawn heating consumes around 2,000 liters of heating oil a day. “That’s about as much as a single-family house in a whole year”, according to Rettig. His suggestion: changing the schedule to the calendar year, for example from March to December, in order to skip the energy-intensive months.
Andreas Rettig, former managing director of the DFL.
The DFL has not gone that far yet, but it has already reacted. Two weeks ago, a questionnaire was sent to all clubs, with which the league association wants to compile all data and facts from the 36 clubs in leagues 1 and 2 on the subject of energy. The results will be presented at the next general meeting in August.
DFL with sustainability committee
There has been another advance since Tuesday (07/26/2022). On the sidelines of its own sustainability forum in Berlin, the league association announced that it would expand its committees to include a sustainability commission. The representatives from the clubs of the Bundesliga and 2nd division should deal with topics from the areas of ecological, economic and social sustainability and take the wind out of the sails of the debate about professional football as an alleged energy guzzler.
A debate that, according to DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, is wrong anyway. “It’s always about football, even during the Corona period. It’s a fact: The football clubs have been committed to sustainability, energy saving measures and renewable energies for years. Not only that, but also from now on self-interest”said Watzke the dpa.