German Football Museum
In the west of Germany, in the Ruhr area, a region with a high number of football clubs and a great footballing tradition, lies the site for Germany’s new football museum in the centre of Dortmund. The new facility is set to open its doors in 2015 and once this happens, it will be a place where the emotional history of Germany’s football can be experienced and where the joy of football will be celebrated.
The structure of the building will mostly consist of a well-lit ground floor and a metal cover, which encases the two exhibition levels on the first and second floor. The stamped structured light metal frontage portrays the football theme on the outside of the building. An LED screen, situated outside on the east part of the building, will further depict the communicative and interactive character of the museum. The courtyard in the eastern region of the building will be an area for open-air gastronomic services, which will portray Dortmund’s history of art and culture and will be enhanced by an urban stage, which will simultaneously serve as an another area in the city centre for recreational use.
Objects, graphics, sounds and films will re-enact the magic of football in various exhibition sites. History is not told linearly, its depiction rather orientates itself on phenomenon. The thematic variety of football and its complex societal, social, cultural and economical effects are presented in an easily comprehendible manner, making it a truly fascinating experience for the visitor. Multimedia and interactive components enhance the experience. Media desks, personalised information services, digital image creators and 3D animations interchange with classic communication devices such as text and pictures, as well as visual-, audio- and touch-and-feel stations.
Using a similar dramaturgic to the game of football, it creates an intuitive and clear orientation. The specific theme areas work with recurring enactments, which portray football through various perspectives and thus make it a highly informative and emotional experience for the visitor. Content-related motifs convey surprising elements of football’s history, background information, thought-provoking and entertaining content.
The research of our curators, the collecting passion of football fans and memorabilia of football players, managers and officials produce an impressive collection of exhibits, which will have to constantly be checked for its current availability and applicability for the final exhibition concept.
However, the museum will not only become a place of preservation and exhibition. At the same time, it will become a living forum of encounters and discussion for every member of the footballing family, for fans and clubs, as well as associations, friends and promoters, partners or sponsors. Furthermore, events such as award presentations, press conferences and lectures or TV productions add another level of entertainment. Germany’s football museum will also be a place for learning: Educational concepts for school classes are an inherent part of the museum’s proposal.
It is estimated that the museum will cost 36 million euros to construct. Half of this sum has been provided by North Rhine-Westphalia. Additionally, eight million euros will be supplied by the German Football Association – these are funds are available from excess earnings from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The remaining sum will be provided through separate sponsor contracts with partner companies of the DFB.
The City of Dortmund and the German Football Association are equal associates in the DFB foundation of the German Football Museum GmbH, who will act as project development companies and later as joint operating companies. Manuel Neukirchner, appointed by the DFB as chief executive, will be acting chief museologist, in charge of communication and marketing and will also be the management spokesperson. Michael Keßeler, appointed by the City of Dortmund, is in charge of architecture and project promotion. They both share responsibilities for maintenance and finances.
Further information on the German Football Museum can be found on the museum’s website.