Urgent application received against demolition work at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark

The Berlin Administrative Court has received an urgent application against the controversial demolition work on the historic Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park. The application was received on Tuesday afternoon and is before the judges of the 24th chamber, a spokeswoman for the court announced. She did not provide any further details.

The NaturFreunde Berlin association had previously announced its intention to file such an application in order to stop demolition work on the stadium until species protection in the sports park had been sufficiently taken into account. This involves compensatory measures to permanently secure the breeding grounds of birds and bats.

Spranger: questionable whether court will accept urgent application

On Tuesday, excavators rolled up to the stadium in Prenzlauer Berg and began removing buildings on the site. Interior and Sports Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) confirmed the start of the work at a Senate press conference.

"I have to tell you, the Senate Department for Urban Development has always done a very, very good job, especially in this area. We will see whether the urgent application is accepted by the court at all", said the SPD politician. The Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing was initially unable to say on Wednesday whether the receipt of the application would have any impact on the demolition.

A new stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000 is to be built on the site as the centerpiece of the new sports park. The Senate is planning a fully inclusive facility in the Prenzlauer Berg district. Additional tennis courts, soccer pitches and volleyball courts are planned for the huge area. A new multi-sports hall is also to be built.

The project has been criticized for various reasons. The demolition and new construction of the stadium alone is now expected to cost 182 million euros, which is twice as much as originally planned. The Jahnsportpark citizens' initiative collected over 14,000 signatures in a petition to prevent the measures. In their view, demolishing and rebuilding the Jahnstadion is neither necessary nor financially sustainable.