A new study underpins the partly alarming state of sports facilities in German cities, municipalities, and districts. According to the study by the German Institute for Urban Affairs (Difu) on behalf of the KfW, in 40 percent of the municipalities, individual sports offers are already unable to take place due to the poor condition of the sports facilities. 36 percent of the municipalities fear that they will have to reduce their sports offerings in the coming years due to crumbling halls and swimming pools, as stated in the survey.
Fifty-nine percent of the municipalities surveyed described the investment backlog in sports halls as “grave” or “notable” and for swimming pools, 62 percent did so. The swimming sport is particularly affected. If nothing is done, the municipalities predict that almost one in seven swimming pools (13.4 percent) and one in six outdoor pools (15.9 percent) will have to be closed in the next three years. The German Association of Cities and Municipalities (DStGB) speaks of a “dramatic development.”
More than a third of the municipalities see a reduction in the offerings as urgently necessary, and many expect that further outdoor and indoor pools will have to be closed: This is a fatal signal for the broad sports and swimming lessons, said DStGB managing director André Berghegger to the Funke newspapers.
At the same time, Berghegger called on the federal government and the states to ensure financial support for new builds and renovations. A large investment offensive in the sports infrastructure is unavoidable. “Instead of small-scale funding programs, we should focus on budgets for the municipalities. We need an ‘Infrastructure Development Plan for Sports’ that enables investments in the sports infrastructure, especially in the broad sports, and creates a sustainable financial basis” he said.
The Difu had surveyed 307 cities, municipalities, and districts in October of the previous year about the situation of the municipal sports facilities. The survey is not representative of the entire country, but it provides a reliable impression of the municipal perception, according to the KfW. Stefanie Brilon, a municipal expert at the German Development Bank, explained the situation, saying that parts of the sports offerings in the municipalities are in danger. “There is a large investment backlog” Brilon said, referring to the Funke newspapers.
The last published KfW municipal panel showed for the year 2023 an overall perceived investment backlog of 186.1 billion euros across all municipal tasks. This is an increase of 12.4 percent compared to the previous year. The sports sector accounted for an investment demand of 12.12 billion euros. Municipalities do invest in new halls or swimming pools. In the previous year, investments in the sports infrastructure were planned for around 3.9 billion euros, which is a nominal increase, but due to the partly drastic price increases in the construction industry, the real investment has decreased.
In Germany, nearly two-thirds of all sports facilities are in municipal ownership. Thirty percent of them are 40 years or older, according to the German Association of Cities and Municipalities. The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) reports that there are around 86,000 sports clubs in Germany with more than 28 million members. Around 58 percent of the clubs use municipal sports facilities for their offerings, according to their own statements.
Generally, the Difu survey shows that 29 percent of the participating municipalities plan to expand the number of sports facilities. According to the survey, almost every municipality (94 percent) has sports halls, closely followed by sports fields (92 percent). More than half of the participating municipalities have outdoor pools and 46 percent have indoor pools.
Other sports facilities, such as riding halls and bowling alleys, are available in about 21 percent, and ice sports halls in eight percent of the participating municipalities. These percentages hardly differ between East and West, according to the KfW. Only the proportion of municipalities with a swimming pool is significantly lower in the East (34 percent) than in the West (49 percent), the funding bank stated.
Looking at the planned expansion of the sports facility offerings, the study shows that the size of the municipality plays a role: 78 percent of all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants plan to build new sports facilities in the coming years. This is followed by municipalities with 20,000 to 50,000 inhabitants (45 percent). In municipalities with 2,000 to 5,000 inhabitants, only nine percent plan such a project. Landkreises want to invest in the sports infrastructure, but only if the funds are available.
Regarding the question of how to close the financing gap, the municipalities are largely in agreement: 76 percent of the surveyed municipalities see a solution primarily in a better basic financing of municipalities, followed by less bureaucracy in funding programs (55 percent). A lower municipal share (31 percent) and the increase of investment aids from the federal government and the states (29 percent) are also seen as helpful.