The Munich City Council's Sports Committee has voted in favour of a major renovation of the stadium of the second, lesser-known club from the Bavarian capital. However, Die Löwen fans will have to wait until 2026 for any work to begin at Grünwalder Stadion.

Solar panels on the roof and new stands

For the time being, we have learned about the scope of the modernisation of the TSV 1860 Munich, Grünwalder Stadium. First and foremost, the capacity of the venue will be increased. It will grow slightly, from 15,000 to 18,105 seats. All stands will receive a canopy, which will be covered with solar panels to achieve the greatest possible degree of climate neutrality of the venue. The corners of the stadium will be enclosed, which will not only provide additional protection from wind and precipitation, but will also ensure that local residents are not exposed to too much noise coming from the stadium. 

In addition, according to city officials, the venue's main stand, located on its south side, will be rebuilt and widened so that it will extend all the way to where the curve on the west side is today. The structure of the new main stand will offer more space underneath it, and it will be used to integrate the stand with the VIP boxes.

© grounds.de

The semi-circular stand on the west side will be partially demolished. The northern stand is to be enlarged by two levels and the east one by one. The pitch will be moved slightly to the north while the entrances to the stadium on the south and east sides will also be rebuilt, and a special courtyard will be created in front of the venue. The expanded police station and a new access to the control centre are going to be located there. All this in order to meet the security requirements for the flow of fan streams outside the stadium.

The city expects specific commitments

The arena's lighting system, which has already been converted to LED technology in 2021, will also be redesigned. Either the height of the masts will have to be reduced or the lights will have to be installed on the edges of the roof in order to achieve an even illumination and avoid glare for nearby residents. The cost of the conversion is expected to be around €77 million. This is equivalent to around €5,720 per seat. The city authorities claim that the upgrade is within the range of costs that this type of work usually achieves, which is between €3,360 and €6,490 per seat.   

© grounds.de

A draft resolution of the Munich City Council includes, as a condition, the explicit obligation of the clubs that would use it (the other being Bayern II) to stay there for a longer period of time. Sports policy spokeswoman from the Munich City Hall, Kathrin Abele, emphasised this, saying: We now want a clear commitment from the clubs that they will use the stadium in the future, because we will spend a lot of money to ensure that the Grünwalder stadium provides the highest standards for playing and watching football matches.

However, TSV 1860 has announced that it will only enter a long-term lease agreement if the team reaches the Bundesliga level. Furthermore, the club has stated that a long-term commitment will only be possible on its part if specific amounts are known. TSV 1860 representatives point out that at other Bavarian venues, renting more modern facilities costs them only 20% of the proposed cost of Grünwalder Stadium.