Executive board answer members' questions

Twice a season, the FC Bayern München eV executive board invite selected members to a discussion forum at the Allianz Arena. The latest one took place before last Saturday’s home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, with president Uli Hoeneß, first vice-president Prof. Dr. Dieter Mayer and second vice-president Walter Mennekes spending over two hours addressing fans’ concerns in Presenterbox 6.

After over 400 topic suggestions had been submitted to FC Bayern München eV over the past weeks, ten members were allowed to present their questions on a wide range of subjects. As experts in each subject area, Jürgen Muth (managing director of Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH), Stefan Mennerich (director of media, digital and communications), Raimond Aumann (supporters and fan club coordinator), Oliver Meßthaler (director of ticketing, security and facility management) and Benjamin Folkmann (club secretary of FC Bayern München eV) were alongside Hoeneß and his colleagues.

Broadcast rights, eSports, family day

“I think it’s very important that we have an ear to the fans,” said Hoeneß in his opening address. “After all, 75 per cent of FC Bayern München belongs to all of you in this room, our members.” The various questions from the members covered topics including TV broadcast rights, an online portal for FCB carpooling, the integration of eSports, young talent, the annual general meeting, ticketing, a family matchday and the Allianz Arena in general. As ever in these biannual forums, Hoeneß and his colleagues tried to answer every question as well as possible. Some lengthy discussions ensued, and concrete conclusions were reached on most topics.

As an example, Dennis Tümpel from Geislingen asked a question about contactless payment at the Allianz Arena – and was surprised himself by the direct answer he got. “We will expand the infrastructure for contactless payment this year and offer alternatives to our payment card from next season,” explained Jürgen Muth. The Arena managing director also revealed another service improvement: “We’ll also be offering a new payment method for parking and licence plate recognition, similar to the video toll. Our members and fans will then easily be able to put in their licence plate online before visiting the Allianz Arena. The parking fee will then be debited in advance and the barriers will automatically open on arrival.”