Fans of SG Wattenscheid 09 are angry about the new design of the Lohrheidestadion. Their banner against the plans of the city of Bochum is visible to many.
SG Wattenscheid 09 has been on the upswing since the beginning of the year and once again has a good chance of staying in the top division. Against Sportfreunde Siegen last Sunday, 830 fans came to the Lohrheidestadion – a season best in the stadium, which is currently a major construction site. The stadium is being modernized and completely roofed over at a cost of 55 million euros, and SGW will also benefit from this – it will be a unique selling point for the former Bundesliga club, which plays in the fifth division.
SGW fans, however, are angry about the city of Bochum’s plans to rebuild the stadium: following a protest in the stadium and an open letter to the city, a protest banner is now hanging on a bridge on the A40.
If you drive from Bochum towards Essen past Wattenscheid and Gelsenkirchen, you can read in large letters on a bridge there on Good Friday: “Don’t take it to extremes – no blue seats in the Lohrheide.” As recently reported, there is anger among many fans about the color concept: the running track and seats are supposed to be blue and white (or light grey). Fans had already unfurled the banner on the shell of the new main stand at the home game against Siegen.
The color concept with the dominant blue and grey is not only reminiscent of the colors of the city of Bochum and TV Wattenscheid 01, which is also at home in the Lohrheide, but also of VfL Bochum, which the Wattenscheid fans regard as their arch-rivals. Fans believe this is disrespectful to the tradition of the black and white SGW.
Wattenscheid’s marketing director Stefan Beermann recently told the WAZ on the subject: “The running track is nice, it looks good. And if that’s what the athletes want, then we’ll grant them that.” And on the colors: “If it were up to us, the seat shells would of course be black and white, but we are of course aware that the stadium is being renovated for athletics.” According to the city, the choice of colors is not about the colors of a particular club, but about the color concept of the new arena.
The stadium renovation is due to be completed in just under a year – work is currently underway on the new main stand and the roof construction of the stand on the south side of the stadium on Lohrheidestrasse. The athletics competitions of the Universiade (FISU University Games) are to be held here in 2025, after which the stadium will also be the venue for major events such as the German Athletics Championships.
VfL Bochum’s footballers will also play their home games here if they are promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga as planned