Scoring in the Soccer Love Shack
June 10, 2005
One of the seedier spin-offs of the soccer world cup that will take place in Germany in 2006 is expected to be a boom in the local sex trade. And that's raising a host of concerns and considerations. Moral issues aside, order-loving city officials in Dortmund have at least addressed the logistics of the pending flurry of entrepreneurial activity.
After all, prostitutes will need places to service their clients. And Dortmund officials are determined that those places should ideally be removed from public streets, parks and residential areas.
Not surprisingly, the solution has been imported from Germany's liberal northern neighbor, the Netherlands, in the form of a series of drive-in wooden "sex huts."
"In Dortmund, we have an official red light district on the outskirts, but there is a problem. There is not enough space for everyone to park," a city official said.
Dortmund plans to arrange the huts in an area complete with condom vending machines and snack bars. The huts have also been introduced in Cologne, another World Cup venue.
"Men have to get used to them of course, but a high percentage accept them because they can protect their anonymity," the official said.
Experts estimate that as many as 40,000 prostitutes will travel to Germany to offer their services to soccer fans during the tournament.