FC St. Pauli out-of-box financing model

Article posted by Coliseum, May 16^th, 2025

Image: FC St. Pauli

The Football Cooperative Sankt Pauli 2024 (FCSP) has just about reached its target. Following the subscription phase which ran from mid-November to the end of March the FCSP Cooperative has 22,623 Members owning shares worth a total of 29,178.800 euro who will now assume ownership of the Millerntor Stadium in Hamburg, Germany, home of the Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli.

‘FC ST. PAULI’ stated that the minimum target was for the cooperative to raise the 20 million euro needed to acquire a majority stake in the Millerntor Stadium operating company based on market research. However, the aim was to bring in around 30 million euro. Having raised 29,178,800 euro this target has been just about achieved.

The Football Cooperative Sankt Pauli 2024 (FCSP) is a cooperative ownership model established by the Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli to secure majority ownership of their residence – the Millerntor Stadium in Germany. This initiative allows the fans to purchase shares, aiming to raise €30 million, and represents a shift away from traditional commercial football financing towards a grassroots, democratic model.

The FC St. Pauli is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, Germany. The team competes in the Bundesliga the highest level of the German football league system.

The 29,546-capacity Millerntor Stadium is a multipurpose stadium in the St. Pauli area of Hamburg, Germany. It serves as the home arena of the Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli.

Shares Subscribed

‘FC ST. PAULI’ further stated that the Cooperative’s 22,623 Members subscribed to a total of 34,328 shares. On an average each Member acquired 1.52 shares.

The majority of the Members are male (77.2 percent) and the average age is 49.6. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of Members come from Hamburg. The postcode areas around the Millerntor Stadium dominate the top of the list.

Observed Oke Göttlich, President, FC St. Pauli, “The Cooperative is the perfect model for the FC St. Pauli – rank-and-file democracy, solidarity and sustainability. After the failed investor deal our constructive solution shows that a different type of football and a different type of financing are possible in the professional game of football. It has been a historic season for the FC St. Pauli as they have been promoted to Bundesliga. I would like to thank the Members and everyone involved for this outstanding result which has moved me deeply. It’s incredible what this community is capable of.”

Added Wilken Engelbracht, FC St. Pauli Commercial Director and Member of the Cooperative’s Supervisory Board, “The overwhelming response to the subscription model is a milestone moment for the FC St. Pauli. It will allow the club to invest more in the future projects. Establishing the first Cooperative in German professional football was a bold step and a major initiative by the club and they have reaped the rewards. We would like to thank the Cooperative’s Presidential Board, all the helpers and the supporters, the partners and the employees, and all the Members who have invested in a model built on the premise of solidarity and sustainability!”

Noted Andreas Borcherding, Chairman, FCSP Cooperative, “It has been a busy few months with an outstanding outcome. The market research results proved to be very robust. All the same, we were overrun, especially at the beginning and towards the end of the subscription phase. Though we had expected lot of enquiries in the beginning and at the end the rush was greater than what we had expected. We even have a waiting list. They may be able to acquire shares from the other Members or get involved in the Cooperative’s next project.”

Maintained Miriam Wolframm, Vice-Chair, FCSP Cooperative, “Raising almost 30 million euro places enormous responsibility on the Board. Many people have reposed their trust in the Cooperative and invested in the model. We know that 850 euro for a share is a lot of money for many of the Members and we are aware of our responsibility and would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for their overwhelming support and placing their trust on us. The Cooperative is like a dream come true. With this Cooperative the FC St. Pauli is proving that a different kind of football financing model is actually possible!”

General Meeting

Recently the Board presented the final outcome of the subscription phase to the Members of the Cooperative and informed them about the next steps to be initiated. This pertains to the acquisition of the Millerntor Stadium in the real sense of the term by the FCSP Cooperative and its Members.

The Cooperative’s first general meeting will take place on June 20^th.

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