Union Berlin home pie share for fans

Article posted by Coliseum, November 30^th, 2024

Image: FC Union Berlin

The fans of the Bundesliga team 1. FC Union Berlin are being given another opportunity to help shape the future of the club they love as the Bundesliga side prepares to revamp its iconic home ground – the Stadion An der Alten Försterei – in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany.

‘fc-union-berlin.de’ stated that for the first time since 2011, around 70,000 club members and sponsors will have the opportunity to become owners of their stadium from December 9th, 2024. They will be able to buy the shares either in person or online. A maximum of 10 shares will be available to buy per person.

The above decision was made at the club’s annual general meeting and was approved by an overwhelming majority of 99.5 percent.

‘fc-union-berlin.de’ further stated that anyone wishing to become a stadium owner from December 9th, 2024 must be a member of 1. FC Union Berlin by the end of November at the latest.

The 1. FC Union Berlin, commonly known as the Union Berlin, is a professional German football club based in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany. It plays in the Bundesliga, the top of the German football league system.

The 22,012-capacity Stadion An der Alten Försterei is a football stadium in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany, and the largest single-purpose football stadium in the German capital of Berlin. It has been home to the football club 1. FC Union Berlin.

‘BUNDESLIGA’ stated that one of European football’s most instantly recognizable top-flight venues, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is set to undergo a radical facelift that will see its capacity rise from just over 22,000 to 40,500.

As in its current form, the majority of those places (32,000) will be standing with just over 8,000 seats along with additional VIP areas and a media zone in the ambitious blueprint.

A club with a pedigree of fan involvement, Union have once again given fans an opportunity to take part in their latest step forward by offering 120,000 shares in the new stadium at €500 (£417/$530) each to its nearly 70,000 club members. A maximum of 10 shares will be available to buy per person.

Stated Dirk Zingler, Union President, in front of some 1,300 club members gathered at the stadium to hear the above announcement, “There is nothing more important than the connection people have with this club and with this place. I would like some 40,000 owners to stand here in the stadium.

On the above announcement, Zingler averred, “It is a historic moment. In doing so, we are securing this football location for the next generations, for our children and grandchildren. There is nothing better for our stadium than if the people who live here and love this club can become owners of their sporting and social home. That is the motivation that drives us.”

‘BUNDESLIGA’ further stated that the construction work is due to start in Summer 2026 with the Union spending the 2026-2027 campaign as guests in the 2. Bundesliga team Hertha Berlin’s home facility – the 74,475-capacity Olympiastadion in Berlin – as they did when they played in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League in 2023-2024.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of the six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and the UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as the UCL) is an annual club association football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by the top-division European clubs.

“It’s not the case that this stock issue will finance the construction works,” explained Zingler, confirming the fans will be made aware of the opportunity through messages on the players’ shirts which have been deliberately left without a main sponsor this season.

Added Zingler, “We want to use our club’s most valuable space for ourselves.”

The Union’s fans have long been committed to their club well beyond simply supporting the team through 90 minutes. In December 2011, the Union club members were offered the opportunity to collectively own 58 percent of the stadium in order to raise some five million euro ($5.4m) to service loans on the construction of a new main stand, a fan house with a bar and other developments.

From 2008 to 2009, more than 2,000 fans put in more than 140,000 hours of work to renovate the stadium which has been the Union’s home since 1920.

Said Zingler of the new initiative, “We want to make this offer again and give these people, these 70,000 club members, ownership of the stadium.”

The future of the stadium has been a central topic for development after the Union declared record revenues of €186.39m for the 2023-2024 seasons and a profit of €1.09m.

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