According to a media report, the legendary sports facility at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum will be thoroughly renovated and modernized in the next few years.
As the Hamburger Abendblatt reported on Wednesday, the mobile roof, the bucket seats and the sanitary facilities will already have been renewed for the Beach Volleyball World Championship, which will be held on the grounds from 28 June to 7 July 2019.
This was the result of an expert discussion between high-ranking sports officials and representatives of the city. A concrete sum for the modernisations, which are to be completed with the optical upgrading of the entire plant by mid-2020, was not mentioned. According to the Abendblatt, the German Tennis Federation (DTB) is participating in the costs as the client and co-investor of the renovation measures.
“That was the breakthrough, the closing of ranks. This round sends out a signal of departure,” Hamburg’s Senator of the Interior and Sports, Andy Grote, told the Abendblatt. Now the patching up of the past years is over and the standstill that the Rothenbaum will now be quickly given a modern, contemporary coat of paint is an appropriate setting to be able to organize world class tennis and beach volleyball tournaments in the future.
The extensive renovation work is also intended to prevent the men’s tennis tournament from migrating to another German city with the new licence holder Peter-Michael Reichel, successor to Michael Stich, who after ten years as tournament director could not agree on a contract extension with the organising DTB. According to Abendblatt, there will also be efforts to bring another women’s tournament to Hamburg.