Images: Union Berlin
German Bundesliga football club Union Berlin has upgraded its redevelopment plans for the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, along with detailing a new capital increase scheme that could raise up to €60m (£50.3m/$66.2m) for the project.
The plans were revealed as Union held its ordinary general meeting yesterday (Thursday). The future of the Alten Försterei was one of the central topics at the gathering, which saw Union declare record revenues of €186.39m for the 2023-24 season and a profit of €1.09m.
In July, Union president, Dirk Zingler, said the club’s stadium redevelopment project was set to be delayed by at least a year. Construction work on the Alten Försterei had been due to take place during the 2025-26 season, with Union to move to the German capital’s Olympiastadion during this time. However, Zingler said a move to the Olympiastadion was now likely in 2026-27.
In November 2022, Union presented its vision to transform Stadion An der Alten Försterei into one of the best stadiums in Europe. Union is seeking to drive forward with plans first presented in 2017, only to be postponed by the outbreak of COVID-19. At the club’s 2022 general meeting, Union gave further information on the expansion plans, including what it claimed was a milestone for the project.
Union exercised the right of first refusal laid down in the heritage building lease agreement with the state of Berlin by acquiring the stadium property. For the first time since the sports facilities at the Alten Försterei were inaugurated in 1920, the site is now owned by Union.
Under the previously detailed plans, the stadium was set to see its capacity rise from the current 22,000 to around 37,500, once work is complete. However, the club yesterday upgraded these figures stating it is now planning a capacity of 40,500 spectators, including 32,500 standing places and 8,000 permanent seats.
The Alten Försterei’s main stand will be expanded, while the other three standing area stands will be demolished and rebuilt. A season in the Olympiastadion was confirmed as the target for 2026-27, whilst the most intensive work at Alten Försterei takes place.
Union yesterday also detailed a reprisal of a stadium share venture, which last raised around €2.7m for the club back in 2011. The latest effort will be more expansive, with an AGM on November 13 set to hear a proposal to open up stadium investment to the club’s 67,638-strong membership.
Up to 120,000 shares are proposed to be issued, priced at €500 apiece for a total volume of €60m. Union will seek to promote the campaign by having its shirt branded with the slogan ‘proAF – Alte Försterei’ through to the end of the year.
“We are approaching the deadline for many construction plans and are gradually entering the phase of realising our construction projects,” said Zingler, explaining the current status of the extensive infrastructure measures which include the current development of a new training complex adjacent to the stadium.
“The most important thing is that everything that is being built here and will shape our club for decades to come is in the hands of the Unioners. The more people feel responsible for their stadium because it actually belongs to them, the more certain it is that it can best develop its benefits for the community.”
Work on the stadium will only commence once the training ground is complete, which is expected to be in the summer of 2026.
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