People who are not familiar with this local political issue will have to read these articles first. Things have become very emotional as the plans to build the multipurpose stadium Coface Arena were finalised in summer 2009. The decision has been made just after Mainz05 soccer club moved up to the Bundesliga(first German soccer league).
The Mainz football club Mainz 05, being the soul of Mainz' local pride, has made its way to the Bundesliga(first German soccer) league) after beating Schalke 04 in May 2009. The opening of the Coface Arena on July 3, 2011 was very moving and there was a kind of local Fassenacht(Mainz Carnival) feel on that day. I'm a passionate ecologist but at the same time quite an avid soccer fan. Mainz 05 has shown that they could achieve many things without promotion. After watching the game in the old stadium, we walked 3 km in a Mainz Carnival-like procession. I was as euphoric as my family and friends and for a moment I could forget the pain concerning abuse against the probably most fertile land in the middle part of Germany. It is about walking the fine line between my engagement to protect nature and my passion for soccer. I have been watching more games since the Coface Arena is just behind my house. In this case, sometime me and some other ecologists, mostly farmers, have to think what we had sacrificed in order to support Mainz05.
My guest Xuechen from China is an architecture student studying in Milan, Italy. We went to see the Coface arena. I told him about the dispute with ecologists and he commented on the stadium's location and architecture. Xuechen is a talented student and he thought it could have had a different architectural design while still retaining the Mainz05 red and white colours. In his opinion it was too simple for a 60 Mill EUR construction and doesn't really fit into the natural environment. A different type of design and shape could have fitted a lot better into the natural environment while still displaying the Mainz05 colours and characteristics. Mainzers could really turn into an enthusiastic crowd by just seeing the suppporters in red white Mainz05 clothes. I was surprised that Xuechen had so much understanding for an issue with such a local flavour. He applied a lot of his knowledge in architecture to comment on the issue
On a side note and unrelated to the Coface Arena, Xuechen(Jason) has been one of my top notch guests. House rules have been totally unnecessary for him and he shared great Chinese cooking and stories from his country
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