The new building for the Hünstetten Sports Club is the first climate-neutral sports facility in the Hessian State Sports Association and serves as a model for sports facilities in rural areas. The advanced facility has been nominated for several awards and also features the latest technology from Uhlmann & Zacher in its locking system.
In 2020, construction began on a new multifunctional sports facility for SG Hünstetten in the Rheingau-Taunus district. The new facility is a project for sports enthusiasts throughout the region and is equipped with the latest technology.
This major project includes a large-scale artificial turf playing field, surrounded by a 400-meter-long track with four running lanes. There is also an artificial turf small-scale playing field. The new building also includes a long jump and triple jump facility, a shot put training facility, and a volleyball and basketball court. The latest-generation artificial turf surface is particularly gentle on the body.
The new SG Hünstetten sports facility is the first climate-neutral sports facility in the Hessian State Sports Association, with its more than 2.2 million members and approximately 7,400 sports clubs. The facility therefore serves as a model for other sports facilities in rural areas.
The new sports facility uses geothermal energy for heating and hot water. A photovoltaic system with corresponding battery storage on the roof provides climate-neutral electricity. All lighting is based on modern LED technology and is controlled as needed by motion detectors. With the exception of the LED floodlight system, the facility is thus largely self-sufficient.
As a training club, SG Hünstetten invests heavily in youth development. Around 250 children and young people are given a "sporting home" here with supervised soccer training and matches. Other sports are also offered. It is a place for children and young people, including those from the surrounding communities. The SG Hünstetten has thus developed into an important meeting place for young people in the region.
All of this is convincing not only to those responsible for the project, but also to those outside: SG Hünstetten was the highlight presentation at Sportinfra 2024, a sports facilities trade fair and conference organized by the Hessian State Sports Association.
The project was a finalist in the 2024 KNX Award, which annually recognizes innovative building technology projects around the world. Thanks to the smart building solution used, the facility saves energy in heating and lighting and optimally utilizes the power from the PV system.
This is another reason why the club won first place in the 2024 German Sustainability Award for Sport. The goal of this award is to raise the visibility of sustainable innovations in sports and thus promote their broader impact.
In addition to SG Hünstetten, neighboring clubs and the local elementary school also use the facility.
Such a diversely used location presents major challenges in access management: A wide variety of user groups, such as teachers, coaches, volunteers, and sports groups, require access to certain areas at different times. At the same time, security, traceability, and flexibility must be guaranteed. A traditional mechanical locking system cannot cope with this complexity. Therefore, a digital, easily manageable locking system was sought that accommodates different user roles and schedules. Ease of use for volunteers and the avoidance of high costs in the event of a transponder loss were particularly important to those responsible.
Rainer Frankenbach, treasurer of the association, commented: "It's hard enough to find people willing to volunteer. It was important to us that no coach be penalized for their commitment by having to pay a four-figure sum to replace a traditional locking system. After all, this isn't even covered by many liability insurance policies."
This is precisely where the electronic locking system from Uhlmann & Zacher comes into play: Authorizations can be flexibly assigned using the Clex prime system software.
This way, all users have access to exactly the rooms they are authorized to access. Furthermore, the schedules stored in the system ensure that access is only granted with the authorized transponder at the specified times. This means that a teacher from the neighboring school, for example, cannot enter the facility on a Sunday. Soccer teams can use the club's catering facilities for Saturday games, but not during the week.
The first chairman, Daniel Maiworm, summarizes the situation as follows: "We have equipped 75 club members with transponders that allow access to 25 different rooms depending on their sport and function. At the old facility, this would have been an unmanageable mess of keys. With the Keyvi software from Uhlmann & Zacher, managing this is no problem at all. We do it on the side during halftime!"
All exterior doors to the building are equipped with electronic surface-mounted wall readers. A wall reader is also used to open a gate. Several readers are also connected to the burglar alarm system via an EMA module.
Electronic door handles are installed on the interior doors. With the electronic door handle, the entire electronics, mechanics, power supply, and LED signaling are integrated into the handle itself in a very small space. This product offers a wide variety of options, including different fittings and handles, handle shapes, roses, and keyholes, ensuring the right solution for every door. The association opted for the electronic door handle with a round rose and profile cylinder hole.
The entire system is operated and managed with the Clex prime system. It uses the leading MIFARE® DESFire® transponder technology. Passive transponders are used. The system is maintained on-site by specialist dealer Dirk Sichtig from Idstein.
Image source: Mühlbauer Licht + Ton
