Important Step for Modern Hockey Training Center

With the World Championship title in hand and the upcoming European Championship at home, there is more good news for German hockey in Mönchengladbach. The Development Company Mönchengladbach (EWMG) can expect funding for the planned expansion of the Hockey Campus in Nordpark. In mid-March, the Supervisory Board of the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier GmbH (ZRR) established the “regional consensus” and gave the green light for the project’s funding.

Mayor Heinrichs was pleased that Mönchengladbach was able to convince with the project idea: “The regional consensus within the Zukunftsagentur is an important step. Through many negotiations, we have succeeded in placing this project with our development company. In the Rhineland Revier, we focus on sustainable development and want to strengthen sports as a location factor. This is great news for the hockey location in Mönchengladbach, for which I personally campaigned. Our Hockey Campus will continue to grow, giving us the opportunity to make hockey a sports focal point beyond the 2023 European Championship. Now it is important to receive funding quickly so that we can start the project.”

The specific plan is to expand the sports facility in Nordpark into a hockey training center with a year-round playable cold air hall and an affiliated sports school. The main user of the training center is expected to be the German Hockey Federation (DHB), which already has its headquarters at Hockeypark. “With events like the Pro League and the European Championship, Hockeypark is gaining international attention again, which has a positive impact on the entire city. The training center opens up further opportunities, can attract new target groups to the Lower Rhine region, and not only strengthen the image of Mönchengladbach as a hockey city but also create and sustain jobs in the long term,” says EWMG Managing Director Dr. Ulrich Schückhaus.

The goal of the project is to establish a home for the German national teams and hockey youth, providing optimal training conditions year-round. Similar to the existing fields, the new cold air hall will also be equipped with an Olympic-level turf, allowing the DHB and other hockey teams to train under competition conditions regardless of the weather. Club teams and other national teams can also utilize the performance center.