In Germany, football clubs, no matter how much they have a big budget, can hardly bear the increase in the price of electricity. Germany’s Bild writes that Borussia Dortmund experienced a “million dollar shock” due to a sharp increase in costs.
Until now, Borussia has paid around four million euros for electricity, and now it has to allocate as much as 10 million euros.
“The management of the club has taken drastic austerity measures a long time ago. Our goal is to reduce energy consumption and related costs in all properties by around 15-20 percent,” Borussia CEO Carsten Kramer explained in an interview with Bild.
Some of the actions taken are already visible near Borussia’s stadium (Signal Iduna Park). The stadium will no longer be illuminated at night and the BVB logo will be switched off. The screens will only be used on match days.
In addition, according to Bild, the use of spotlights will be significantly reduced in the future, and the heating and lighting of the lawns will be turned off. Fans have to adapt to the changes, especially in the VIP area. The stadium is less heated, and the coolers in the VIP rooms are only turned on during matches. So maybe the fans should wear a thicker sweater the next time they come to the stadium, the reporters conclude.
Borussia is just one of the numerous German clubs that decide to take radical steps in order to significantly reduce energy consumption, and in order to significantly lower future bills.
Recently, the seven-time champion of Germany, Nürnberg, who plays in the 2. Bundesliga, decided not to play at night anymore so as not to turn on the floodlights. They will play during the day, and in this way they will try to pass the period of the great crisis that occurred in the world as painlessly as possible.
If the big and rich clubs in the West are already struggling with the crisis, what can be said about some “small” clubs and those coming from poor countries?
