The major renovation project at Berlin’s Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark has been suspended following a court ruling connected to concerns over the project’s impact on the environment, specifically the plight of nesting sparrows.
Demolition work has already commenced at the site in the German capital, but has now been halted by the Berlin Administrative Court. The Court granted an urgent application from a conservation organisation, ruling it “provisionally prohibited the state of Berlin from carrying out demolition work on certain existing buildings on the stadium grounds in the Jahn-Sportpark, where there are breeding grounds for house sparrows”.
While the Berlin Senate is seeking to address the issue, demolition is now suspended until at least February 28. A report commissioned by the Senate had concluded that the project would destroy breeding grounds for various protected bird and bat species.
The Senate said it would seek to remedy the situation by taking compensatory measures – in the case of the sparrows, through the development of bird houses. However, the Court expressed its doubts that this would be sufficient for at least 94 breeding sites, whether they would be delivered on time and if the animals would actually use them.
In May, it was reported that the cost of the Jahn-Sportpark had risen to more than €300m (£249.6m/$324.4m). The complex primarily serves as an athletics venue but is set to be converted into a multi-sport destination. O+M Architekten has designed the new-look stadium that will sit at the heart of the complex.
The new stadium at Jahn-Sportpark would have a capacity of 20,000, making it the third largest stadium in Berlin behind the Olympiastadion and Stadion An der Försterei. As well as the new stadium, the project will include football, volleyball and tennis facilities, and a new meeting centre.
First opened in 1952, the Sportpark has been the subject of much debate over its long-term future. The Sportpark, and in particular the stadium, were deemed to have significant functional deficiencies while the historic nature of the site has also been pointed to by critics of the redevelopment.
The Jahnsportpark citizens’ group collected over 14,000 signatures in a petition to prevent the project, arguing that demolition and reconstruction of the Jahnstadion is neither necessary or financially sustainable.
