Brainstorm on Max-Morlock-Stadium revamp

Image: Max-Morlock-Stadium, Florian K., CC BY-SA 3.0

The 2. Bundesliga team 1. FC Nürnberg home venue – the Max-Morlock-Stadium in Nuremberg, Germany – total overhaul work could by realized by the year 2030.

‘br.de’ stated that the planners have recently unveiled preliminary renderings of the revamped stadium and the fans have been asked to provide suggestions.

In June, the proposals for the stadium project will be presented to the City Council, which will then have to vote on the same, as they did last year. The plan is to start repurposing work in 2028 and complete it by 2030.

The 1. FC Nürnberg, or simply Nürnberg, is a German sports club based in Nuremberg, Bavaria (Germany). It is best known for its men’s football team, who currently compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second division of professional football in Germany.

The 50,000-capacity Max-Morlock-Stadium is a stadium in Nuremberg, Germany, which opened in the year 1928. It is located next to the Zeppelinfeld (the site of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg). It also neighbors the 10,000-capacity Arena Nürnberg. Since 1966, it has been the home stadium to the German 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. During the 1972 Summer Olympics, it hosted six football matches.
 

Stadium Visualization

‘br.de’ further stated that workshops held with the fans’ groups conjured up images of what the revamped stadium would look like in which the 1. FC Nürnberg will likely play from 2030 if things go as per plans. Among others, Matthias Schöner from the Architecture and Planning Office Albert Speer und Partner (architecture firm) based in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) also visualized the venue.

A meeting was also held in the Nuremberg Town Hall recently where the residents of the area as well as the fans posed questions to the relevant authorities as regards the planned revamp work of the facility. A live streaming was held in which people asked questions from their homes and the same was answered by a panel of experts. It was a riveting session andmore than 130 questions were raised and the discussions lasted around 90 minutes.
 

Stadium Capacity

One of the most important facets of a stadium is its capacity. Planner Matthias Schöner said that the functional planning currently provides for a capacity of 40,000 seats – in regular league operations the stadium has a total of 47,500 seats. A capacity of 40,000 is appealing when it comes to hosting international matches in the future.

The functional planning primarily serves to divide the capacities of a stadium and provides the key data that further planning can then refer to, says Schöner. The architectural planning, for example, the façade design, will be determined at a later date.
 

Wheelchair Users’ Space

A unanimous decision was arrived at – the red tracks for the athletes should be done away with and the spectators should get an up close view of the pitch. Circa 200 spots should be made available for the wheelchair users and their attendants.
 

North Curve

Melanie Adams and Matthias Fröhlich, 1. FC Nürnberg members, maintained that a “huge” demand for majority of the fans was that the North Curve – even after the revamp work – should continue to offer both standing and seating areas and the same should not be done away with. The venue operators said that the stand would continue to offer standing-seating areas.

Matthias Schöner presented four different variants of what a distribution of space in the North Curve could look like. The ideas range from 8,000 to a maximum of around 15,500 standing places. In all considerations, it is always important that the sightlines should be clear from every seat in the house. A new addition to the North Curve would be space for the wheelchair users as desired by the fans in the various workshops held.
 

VIP Seats

ForStefan Heim, Stadium Developer of 1. FC Nürnberg, the VIP seats area of the refurbished Max-Morlock-Stadium should be expanded and a spiffy touch lent. Plans are to install 3,000 business seats, three times more than before.

The 2. Bundesliga club’s pitch performance, of late, is in bad shape and is all set to get relegated.

The VIP zone should be housed in the main stand, as per Heim, in order to garner more revenue. The 2. Bundesliga team Karlsruher SC, which recently completely renovating its stadium – the 34,302-capacity Wildparkstadion in Karlsruhe, Germany – charged twice as much for the VIP tickets which is not the case with the 1. FC Nürnberg. It is crucial to catch up in this area in order to remain competitive. More flow of revenue would ultimately benefit the club.
 

Museum

More than 130 questions were posed during the livestreaming session – not all of them could be answered. The topics ranged from noise pollution to a streamlined transportation network. Schöner pitched for a museum in the stadium vicinity. Concurring with Schöner’s idea, the fans’ representatives Melanie Adams and Matthias Fröhlich said that a museum should be built to showcase the club’s rich history.
 

Teamwork

At the end of the panel discussion, the Mayor of Nuremberg, Christian Vogel, affirmed that the renovation of the stadium could be feasible only as “teamwork”. Vogel stated that every constructive suggestion would be examined in details later.
 

Picking up Tab

A clear picture has still not emerged as regards the financing of the venue reconfiguration work. It was suggested that the Free State of Bavaria should take the lead in this regard.
 

Stadium Name

During the discussions, Mayor Vogel stated that he wanted in all earnest to retain the stadium name Max-Morlock once the redevelopment work is over but can’t promise on the same. The arena is known as the Max-Morlock-Stadium since 2017 in honor of the former captain of 1. FC Nürnberg who was also a member of the German national team that won the world championship title in 1954. He is still considered a legend and idol of the club today.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

• Tags »
• 1. FC Nürnberg
• Germany
• revamped stadium

« Previous News: Pick of firms for South Florida varsity venue
» Next News: Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre inaugurated