Berlin’s Senate Department for the Interior, Digitisation and Sport has announced it will launch a design competition for a project that intends to demolish and rebuild Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark.
The Sportpark’s main feature is Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion, which, with a capacity of around 20,000, is the German capital’s third largest stadium, behind the Olympiastadion and Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
First opened in 1952, the Sportpark has been the subject of much debate over its long-term future. The Senate has now said it will be developed into an “inclusive sports facility” in order to give people with and without disabilities equal access to practicing and experiencing sports.
At its meeting this week, the steering committee for the Sportpark, which is owned by the State of Berlin, defined the specifications for the design competition, which is set to be a two-phase process launching in the spring.
Sports Senator Iris Spranger said: “We are pleased that the competition for the best concept for the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark can now start. With this we have taken a decisive step towards more inclusion in our city and I am very excited about the results of the competition.”
Following workshops carried out last year to weigh up options for the Sportpark, it has been decided that a project will be pursued that will retain the historic elements of the facility.
The Senate said: “Against the background of economic efficiency, the spatial program, the urban framework and the special requirements of an inclusive sports location, the steering committee decided to rebuild the stadium, taking into account the essential identity-forming features of the Jahn-Sportpark. The features can be structural, topographical or architectural in nature.”
Local broadcaster RBB said the project is likely to cost around €120m (£100.7m/$134.9m). The design competition is expected to conclude by December at the latest, with a decision then being made on the start of construction.
“The intention is to complete the stadium at the end of the current legislative period,” said Sylvia Schwab, spokesperson for the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport. This would be in autumn 2026.
Image: Mauerpark/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
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