Series on the 2023/2024 budget
A hard court becomes a hockey pitch
One pitch, two goals, brown gravel and a few puddles - this is the picture of the hard football pitch at the Poststadion in Bernsdorf. Where football hardly ever takes place anymore, a hockey pitch is to be built in the future - after funds have been pledged by the town council.
"On the one hand, the pitch has the dimensions we need, and on the other hand, the building ground is favourable, so that the construction of an artificial turf pitch can be easily realised," explains Mirko Rost, one of the initiators of the project.
The hard pitch is part of a six-hectare site, including the club building and another football pitch, which is to be purchased by the city of Chemnitz in the first stage. In the second stage, the hard pitch will be converted into a hockey pitch: including drainage, irrigation system, cisterns, fences, players' benches and spectator seating. As underrepresented as hockey may seem in Chemnitz alongside football or basketball, the sport is actually rich in tradition and growing. The "Chemnitz Hockey Club Post SV" currently has more than 180 active, predominantly young players - and the trend is rising.
The problem: "The artificial turf pitch in the Sportforum, which we use together with the footballers from the CFC youth training centre and other clubs in the city, is a compromise solution that is actually not perfectly suitable for hockey," Rost continues. After fifteen successful years, the club wants to continue to grow. The sport is well received by both boys and girls. All junior teams are represented.
"The aim is to double that and increase it to 250 to 300 members in the long term. To achieve this, it is necessary to generate a playing surface that meets the requirements of our sport," for which the funds approved by the city council can now be used in the foreseeable future.
The most important facts
- Costs for the purchase of the six-hectare site: 655,000 euros
- Cost of remodelling the square: 1.6 million euros
- Submitted to the City Council: CDU, DIE LINKE/DIE PARTEI, SPD
- The basis for the construction of the hockey pitch is an old hard football pitch.
- The club currently trains at the Sportforum, but the grass pitch there is designed for football and is therefore not suitable for hockey.
- Sustainability: A recycled material is to be used for the new artificial turf.
- The hockey tradition in Chemnitz dates back to 1910.
- The Postsportverein Chemnitz e. V. currently has around 180 active members.
- The hockey players' equipment includes face masks, shin guards, sticks, gloves and sportswear.
