The plans were big: twelve football fields, several functional buildings and a parking garage. Bundesliga soccer team Bayer 04 Leverkusen wanted to build a training and youth center in Monheim – it was supposed to be one of the most modern soccer performance centers in Europe.
The parties were against this CDU, SPD, FDP and the Greens submitted a joint application. At the city council meeting on Wednesday, the majority of members were in favor of the application in a secret vote – and thus in favor of repealing the decision that had already been made to initiate the development process. After around two hours of discussion, 24 council members voted in favor, 19 against and 4 abstained.
No general no to the location – Leverkusen has to make improvements
CDUGroup leader Markus Gronauer emphasized at the council meeting that they did not want to close any doors and “reach out your hands for conversation.“Martin Brand, Secretary General of the FDPexpressed himself similarly: “The FDP is willing to compromise.” Dr. Sabine Lorenz from the Greens also relies on a dialogue on equal terms and is committed ready to talk. “But we also expect Bayer 04 Leverkusen to be willing to talk.“
The association had already signaled this willingness to talk in advance of the council meeting. Bayer Leverkusen had announced a new, revised plan, which no one knew about at the time of the city council meeting. In the coming week, all council groups will hold talks with Bayer Leverkusen. The training campus in Monheim could still be realized.
Criticism of previous plans from several quarters
The previous mayor of Monheim, Daniel Zimmermann, was in favor of the major project. However, after the local elections, the majority in the city council changed – this makes the route to the planned Bayer campus more difficult.
The CDU in Monheim had made critical comments about the football club’s plans before the council meeting. Group leader Gronauer would find another location appropriate: “The very best solution for Bayer 04 would be a sports campus in Leverkusen, because it is called Bayer 04 Leverkusen. If it is in Monheim, it must be a solution that everyone can live with and that preserves our green area“.
Some residents are also dissatisfied. Among other things, they are worried about the noise and the floodlights and want to protect natural areas.
The club wants to hold on to its location
Bayer 04 Leverkusen had announced in advance in a statement that the plans for the club had failed “disappointing and surprising” would be, said Simon Rolfes, Managing Director of Sport on Tuesday before the council meeting. However, the Bundesliga club would like to stick to its location as there is no alternative: “We’ll stay tuned at this location. We don’t have a plan B“Rolfes affirmed.
The CDU saw it differently and appealed to the club: “You have to look at how to optimally locate the training areas and that can be in the east or south of the plant protection center and not in the green area. That doesn’t really matter to the sport“, says Gronauer. The campus could be built in Monheim, but at a different location than the current plans.
Our sources:
- Interview with Markus Gronauer, CDU Monheim
- Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- Monheim City Council meeting on November 5th