YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
The Osnabrück Sports Facilities Days took place in July of last year. For this year's edition, organisers chose a date in spring. It was a great event that attracted some 130 participants to the City of Peace – despite very wintry conditions. For the third time, the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, the Research Society for Landscape Development Landscaping (FLL) and the Playground + Landscape Verlag organized the popular continuing education series on sports facilities and exercise areas. On 28 February and 1 March, 2018, the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences was all about the "maintenance of sports facilities".
The first day covered the aspect of planning. Detlef Berthold, head of the "Sports Facilities, Sports and the Environment" department at the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, spoke about the necessity of intact and well-maintained sports facilities in our cities and communities and explained how the policy supports this and what challenges lie ahead. Next, landscape architect Bernd Schnabel reported on the successful and sustainable conversion of sports facilities, providing some examples from practice. After the lunch break, landscape architect Markus Illgas said that the sustainable maintenance of a sports complex should be included in the planning and demonstrated how maintenance and planning mistakes are frequently made with "bad practice" examples. In the next session, Klaus Retsch from the Bochum Sports and Bathing Authority presented new ways of planning green leisure and exercise spaces. Within the framework of the project "Green Urban Labs" a green centre for exercise is to be developed from an old sports ground with a hard surface. At the end of the first day, landscape architect Rainer Ernst vividly explained the plans for the new DFB Academy in Frankfurt and the FC Bayern campus.
The second day of the Sports Field Days 2018 focussed on the maintenance of sports facilities in operation. First, Jens Prüller of the State Sports Association of Hesse made it clear that modern and well-maintained sports facilities are immensely important for sports clubs and municipalities and reported on successful modernization projects. Next, Dr. Martin Thieme-Hack from the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences presented the aspects of the lifecycle-oriented planning of a sports facility, the need for a maintenance manual, the most important maintenance measures and the responsible actors in the processes. He then provided examples from different areas of the maintenance. Mr Torge Hauschild from District Sports Facility Construction of the City of Hamburg reported on the procedure for the maintenance and repair of sports facilities in large cities. In the lecture that followed, Olaf Finke from the Moers Sports Office explained corresponding measures in a mid-size municipality. Norbert Vollmer from TV Rottenburg and greenkeeper Georg Schmitz from Bayer 04 Leverkusen presented in detail how clubs engage in the maintenance of sports facilities. As in the two practical lectures, the focus was not only on a pure description of measures and implementation, but also specifically on problems and financing aspects.
The conclusion of the second day marked the end of the Osnabrück Sports Facilities Days 2018. The diverse program of lectures offered extensive insight into the aspects and the practical procedure for the maintenance of sports facilities. The organizers were very positive about the event, which will continue next year with a new set of topics. The lecture program was accompanied by a trade exhibition with 11 participating companies. The organizers would like to thank all supporters, speakers and visitors to the Osnabrück Sports Facilities Days 2018 and are looking forward to a reunion in February of next year.
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Photo: Hochschule Osnabrück
