FC St. Pauli unique fan funding model

Article posted by Coliseum, November 24^th, 2025

Image: FC St. Pauli on Facebook

Fans of the Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli have taken over as majority owners of their club’s stadium – the Millerntor-Stadion in Hamburg, Germany.

‘THE TELEGRAPH’ stated that the Bundesliga club said recently that a fan cooperative raised some 29 million euros ($33.5 million) by offering shares to become part-owners of the Millerntor Stadium.

The FC St Pauli, commonly known as simply St. Pauli, is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, Germany. The team plays in the Bundesliga for the 2025-2026 seasons, their second consecutive season in the top flight following promotion from the 2. Bundesliga in 2023-2024.

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

‘THE TELEGRAPH’ further stated that the St. Pauli sent out a statement which read, “This means the heart of the club now officially belongs to the cooperative – and thus to its members. With the takeover of the stadium company a crucial step has been taken to secure the future of the Millerntor permanently in the hands of the FCSP community.”

The club said more than 22,000 people took part in the fan cooperative initiative. It announced in April that more than 21,000 members joined the fundraising initiative after its near five-month subscription period ended though members could still join if they missed the deadline.

Observed Oke Göttlich, St. Pauli President, “We have proven that a different kind of football and a different financing model are possible. A cooperative and sustainable approach to business is also possible in professional football – as is the participation of many people who take on shared responsibility.”

Each member spent 850 euros ($980) for every share they bought with 100 euros ($115) of that going towards fees and contributions. Every purchase entered the buyer in a draw for prizes including a dinner with the team captain Jackson Irvine, VIP packages and signed jerseys.

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich powerbroker Uli Hoeneß, who organized a benefit game for St. Pauli in 2003 when the club was in financial difficulty, was among the new stakeholders.

Added Andreas Borcherding, Cooperative Head Honcho, St. Pauli, “We are delighted by the tremendous support for the cooperative, for the idea of a different kind of football and a different way of doing business. We are very pleased to have now taken this step.”

St. Pauli Financial Chief Wilken Engelbracht said it means the club can invest using its own resources including in the expansion of the performance center.

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