Monday brought a new milestone in FC Bayern's history with the official inauguration of the FC Bayern Campus in the north of Munich. The purpose of the new youth academy at Ingolstädter Strasse 272 is to help the German record champions “optimise the development of young talent,” according to Uli Hoeneß. Guests at the inauguration ceremony were addressed by the Bayern president, Bavarian Minister President Horst Seehofer, Mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter and Dr Rainer Koch, president of the Bavarian FA and vice-president of the German FA. Comedian Bruno Jonas also gave an entertaining eulogy.
"We see a chance to generate lots of success with this campus,” Hoeneß told around 300 invited guests and 100 journalists at the 30-hectare sports facility: “This campus will be another crucial foundation for the future of FC Bayern, another trademark of our club. Through clever tactics FC Bayern aim to train talents even better at this youth academy than at the Säbener Strasse training facility, which burst at the seams.” The Bayern president added: “The new FC Bayern Campus will also provide one answer to the current transfer madness and the explosion of salaries."
Hoeneß, standing on the podium between Minister President Seehofer and Mayor Reiter, cut a red ribbon to mark the official inauguration and thanked Allianz in his address. "We're happy our longstanding sponsor is also our partner for the Allianz FC Bayern Akademie, which is the academy building and the core of the facility." Hoeneß also thanked Karl Hopfner, the academy's "intellectual father," who oversaw the project from the planning stage to its completion.
Horst Seehofer spoke of a "very good day for FC Bayern and the Free State of Bavaria." The Bavarian Minister President declared: "This new campus completes FC Bayern's magic triangle along with the Säbener Strasse facility and the Allianz Arena. I congratulate our Bavarian figurehead. It's another milestone in FC Bayern's great history."
Mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter rates the new academy as "the right decision and investment in the future," adding that "FC Bayern will strengthen the importance of Munich as a sports centre with this flagship campus."
Dr Rainer Koch called the new FC Bayern Campus a "visible sign of the football of the future." The president of the Bavarian FA, who is responsible for the amateur branch of German football as vice-president of the German FA, added: "FC Bayern, one of 4,650 clubs in Bayern, invests in grassroots sport in an exemplary manner."
The new FC Bayern Campus, a €70 million project in terms of construction cost alone, was built in 22 months and commenced operations on 1 August 2017. The 30-hectare facility incorporates a sports hall for basketball, handball and table tennis, eight football pitches for youth teams from the U-9s to the U-19s and the women's and girls' teams, and a 2,500-capacity stadium, where the U-17s and the U-19s contest their Bundesliga matches. The Allianz FC Bayern Akademie, the academy building on the campus, comprises offices for coaches and staff as well as 35 apartments for talents who don't live in the Greater Munich area. Currently a staff of 75 work at the German record champions' youth academy at Ingolstädter Strasse 272, which is headed by Jochen Sauer and Hermann Gerland.
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