RheinEnergieSportpark
1. FC Köln's training ground around the Geißbockheim clubhouse — nine pitches and the Franz-Kremer-Stadion in the outer green belt.
The grounds stretch between Berrenrather Straße and the Decksteiner Weiher on the edge of Cologne's green belt. Remnants of a former military fortification still survive on the site today.
At a glance
- Type
- Sports facility of 1. FC Köln
- Location
- Cologne-Sülz, within the Äußerer Grüngürtel landscape protection area
- Area
- roughly 10 hectares
- Pitches
- nine in total — four natural grass, two artificial turf, one football cage, one footvolley/foot-tennis court
- Centrepiece
- the clubhouse "Geißbockheim"
- Name
- in its current form since 2007
Location and surroundings
The sports park borders Berrenrather Straße and is accessed via the roughly 300-metre Franz-Kremer-Allee spur road, with footpaths also leading in from Beethovenpark. Its northern edge runs about 600 metres along the Militärringstraße, separated from it by a narrow strip of woodland. The site is around 200 metres wide, widening south of the clubhouse — where the grass pitch extends over 400 metres — down to the Decksteiner Weiher. Parking is available by the clubhouse and at the north-western boundary, reached via a short spur road off the Militärring.
History
Sports grounds already existed here in the 19th century. In 1876 the Zwischenwerk VI b was built as part of Cologne's ring of fortifications, later demolished in 1921. City garden architect Fritz Encke laid out the sports pitches on the former military site. From 1930 the workers' sports club Frischauf Sülz used the grounds, followed by SV Sülz 07 from 1939 and, from 1948, its successor 1. FC Köln. The predecessor club Spielvereinigung Sülz 07 had its clubhouse above the fortification's Kehlkaserne, with lower senior and junior teams playing on the adjoining ash pitch. Until 1953 the original Zwischenwerk served as 1. FC Köln's clubhouse; parts of the Kehlkaserne survive in the basement of today's clubhouse, and remnants of the Zwischenwerk can still be viewed.
The Geißbockheim
In 1949, at the suggestion of club president Franz Kremer, the club set up a special fund for a large sports complex, into which 10 percent of every matchday revenue from the first team flowed. The clubhouse — named after the club's mascot, a billy goat (Geißbock) — was newly built by the company of then-DFB president Peco Bauwens and inaugurated in 1953. A major renovation in 1961 added a hall and new grass pitches. Since 2008 the once again renovated and extended building has housed both a restaurant and the club's administrative offices.
Franz-Kremer-Stadion
Built between 1966 and 1971, the stadium was originally known as the Amateurstadion and has carried the name Franz Kremer since 1977. It hosts the U17 and U19 youth teams, the second men's team (U21), and — since the 2020/21 season, following relegation from the Frauen-Bundesliga to the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga — the women's team. Capacity stands at 5,457, comprising 3,557 uncovered standing places and 1,900 covered seats. For the U23 side's promotion to the Regionalliga West in 2005, the venue was upgraded to league standards, including a separate entrance for away fans; undersoil heating followed in 2007.
Good to know
A "master plan" by 1. FC Köln envisions a modern performance centre, with several artificial turf pitches planned for the currently publicly accessible Gleueler Wiese. Expansion is complicated by the site's location within a protected landscape area, and adjoining sections have been listed as protected monuments since 1980. In early 2016 a citizens' initiative, Grüngürtel für Alle, formed in opposition to the plans.
Gallery
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Franz-Kremer-Allee 1-3
50937 Köln
Hours
Mo: 08:00–20:00
Di: 08:00–20:00
Mi: 08:00–20:00
Do: 08:00–20:00
Fr: 08:00–20:00
Sa: 09:00–18:00
So: 10:00–16:00
Contact
Comments
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-07-30)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-07-27)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-27, rev 267249829)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-27
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