Initiative Forces Public Referendum To Save Racetrack, Stop Construction Of DFB Academy

The German Football Federation (DFB) "has to worry about its proposed new €89M ($103M) performance center on the site of Frankfurt's horse racetrack," according to the SID. The initiative "'Pro Racetrack' forced a public referendum." The city announced that the referendum "will take place in June." However, the "requirements to stop the construction are very high." In order to stop the project, a majority "has to vote in favor of saving the racetrack while a minimum of 25% the voting-eligible population has to take part in the referendum." DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach "recently announced that the federation will obviously respect the democratic process." The administration confirmed on Wednesday that "the examination of the signatures is completed." The public initiative has submitted a total of 18,884 signatures. With a total of 13,715 valid signatures, "it reached the necessary amount." The requirement was 13,604 signatures (SID, 1/14).