BG Göttingen receives approval for home game hygiene concept

Breathe a sigh of relief from those responsible at the BG Göttingen: The health department has approved the hygiene concept of the violets for the Sparkassen-Arena. Nothing stands in the way of the first Bundesliga home game against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig on Saturday, November 14th – at least organizationally. However, there is always a look at the development of the corona infection numbers in the city and district.

In August, it made no sense to start planning, says BG managing director Frank Meinertshagen. “At that time there were still changes. We started the detailed planning in mid-September, made an appointment with the health department and discussed everything together. There were suggestions for improvement that we have included in our concept. ”The approval from the office was then“ very quickly ”.

The concept made available by the Basketball Bundesliga relates more to game operations. “We got one or two concepts from other locations and copied some of the things we thought were good. Ultimately, however, it became our own concept, because we naturally had to take the conditions in the hall into account, ”explains Meinertshagen.

1000 seats will be available – on all four sides of the grandstand. Around 700 tickets will go on sale per game, the rest will be distributed to sponsors. However, only viewers from the district of Göttingen and the neighboring districts have access. No guest fans are allowed. Season ticket holders who bought a season ticket in the 2019/20 season have the right of first refusal. “The majority of these fans have waived a refund. We would therefore like to thank you for this support with the right of first refusal, ”says Meinertshagen. However, neither sponsors nor season ticket holders have a right to their traditional seats. “We can’t do that in this situation,” says Meinertshagen, who emphasizes: “If normal operations are possible again in the 2021/22 season, the usual places can be booked again.”

The doors of the Sparkassen-Arena open half an hour later than before. Admission begins 60 minutes before the tipoff. Disinfection stations will be set up, and the spectators must move in the hall in a one-way system. Mouth and nose protection must be worn all the way to the seat and may only be removed when the seats have been taken. When leaving the hall, additional exits are opened.

“We are lucky that the Sparkassen-Arena has a very good, modern ventilation system. In the hall itself there is a complete exchange of air twice within an hour, in the other rooms even four times an hour, ”reports Meinertshagen. At half time, the doors are also opened to the outside. “That can get cooler then, but it is unavoidable,” says the BG managing director.

No, there will be a strict separation between the active area (player and referee) and the passive area (referee and spectator). “We won’t even have referee attendants because they’d have to be tested. Only tested people are allowed into the entire area of ​​the changing rooms, ”says Meinertshagen.

For the first home game on Saturday, November 14th, against the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig, the online advance booking starts on Friday, October 23rd. Tickets are offered in three categories at the prices of the previous season (the “standing room category” does not apply). Different blocks are set up for single buyers, groups of two and four – always making sure that the minimum distance is observed. All tickets are personalized, a comparison with the identity card takes place upon admission. Previously, children who were younger than seven years old had free entry without being entitled to a seat, but this regulation is no longer applicable. For all children (up to twelve years of age) a ticket must be bought at a reduced price, because seats are compulsory. There will be no box office. If tickets are still available immediately before the event, they can be booked via the smartphone – here too, the name is then matched with the identity card at the entrance.