40 percent of sports facilities in Thuringia in need of renovation

Over a third of sports facilities in Thuringia are dilapidated. This was announced by the State Sports Association (LSB) of Thuringia following a survey commissioned in December. According to the survey, 40 percent of all sports facilities in Thuringia are in need of renovation or modernization. The administrations of the 605 municipalities and 17 districts in the Free State were surveyed. The investment backlog for all sports facilities in the state amounts to 1.3 billion euros.

"Previously, the information on the investment backlog for sports facilities in Thuringia was based on estimates that were scaled down to the state using an overall federal figure. With the survey, which was conducted specifically for Thuringia for the first time, we now have reliable results that we can use to make more substantiated statements about the sports facility situation in the state," said LSB Managing Director Thomas Zirkel in a statement.

Every second municipality has a dilapidated facility

According to Zirkel, the investment requirement is "once again somewhat higher than we had previously assumed at one billion euros". In Thuringia, this affects 1,800 of around 4,500 sports facilities such as sports grounds, sports halls, sports-specific facilities and swimming pools. Two thirds of all municipalities have at least one sports ground in need of renovation. Almost every second municipality has at least one dilapidated facility such as a bowling alley, shooting range or tennis court, and every third municipality has a sports hall in need of modernization.

At around 600 million euros, the renovation of sports halls alone would account for around half of the total investment backlog. In addition, 120 of the 200 indoor and outdoor swimming pools require refurbishment. In total, the municipalities have concrete renovation and modernization plans for the next five years amounting to around 560 million euros for 558 projects. The districts are planning 66 projects with a total volume of around 105 million euros, particularly in the area of sports halls.

Clubs contribute their own work

In addition to up to 60% funding from the LSB and from state funds, sports clubs also contribute their own funds and unpaid work for the modernization. Over the past eleven years, in addition to 10.4 million euros from the state, 5.7 million euros in own funds and almost two million euros in unpaid work by the clubs have been used to implement 337 projects, according to the LSB.