Four pages of text slow down 1. FC Köln and make Türoff “stunned”

The news that the scheduled date before the Higher Administrative Court regarding the development plan for the expansion of the Cologne Geißbockheim was canceled also caught managing director Philipp Türoff off guard. However, 1. FC Köln is sticking to the schedule for the construction of the performance center. FC managing director Philipp Türoff only found out about the Higher Administrative Court's rejection the evening before. IMAGO/Jan Huebner

Philipp Türoff was able - or rather had to - save himself his planned trip to the Higher Administrative Court in Münster. The FC managing director also only found out on Wednesday evening that the decision on the development plan for the expansion of the Cologne Geißbockheim had been postponed at short notice. “It really came as a complete surprise to me,” explained Türoff, who “without the best will in the world” had not expected the cancellation and was therefore “stunned”. Just four pages submitted at short notice with arguments for the species protection report for the development plan ensure that the people of Cologne continue to wait for clarity and are in limbo. “Nothing is as miserable as endless hanging games,” emphasized Türoff. “We just want to get to action and to do that you have to know the conditions under which you can do that.” A frustrating situation.

Türoff emphasizes: “Nothing can pause now.” “Personally, I went chopping wood with it last night,” Türoff admitted his anger, but made it clear from the club’s perspective that things still had to go on. “Nothing that we are specifically working on here can be paused now,” he emphasized, with a view to the renovations that have already begun on the existing Geißbockheim and, above all, the construction of the performance center. The green light for the construction of the building next to the Franz Kremer Stadium, where there is currently a training field, has been given since October 2024. "By postponing this judgment, we will not delay in any way the finalization of the planning of the performance center or the start of construction."



Operational work is already underway in the background, and “something visible will happen” next year. There is already a shortage of training places. And this in turn means that the people of Cologne, who already lack training places, lose another highly frequented place. "Whether we build the thing or not, at the end of the day we don't have enough places. We have to do a lot today to avoid it," explained Türoff. "But we cannot stand still in everything and resign ourselves to our fate." With a positive verdict on Thursday, for which those responsible had calculated "good chances", the FC could have increased the pressure with a view to the four intended places. “There is no building permit for this on the Gleueler Wiese and the development plan is extremely relevant for this.”

But now the club has to continue to be patient, take evasive action and tackle alternative solutions. The FC doesn't want to win a legal dispute, the FC wants to play football, as Philipp Türoff concludes.

Such as additional “satellite spaces” outside the Geißbockheim. The FC has already built a new artificial turf pitch on the BC Efferen site in Hürth at its own expense, which is being used. At Fort Deckstein and at Haus am See, additional places could be renovated and alternative options could be created. In the end, the club has one major concern, as Türoff emphasized: "The FC doesn't want to win a legal dispute, the FC wants to play football." However, this will not happen in the near future on the Gleueler Wiese.