German Bundesliga football club Werder Bremen has agreed a stadium naming rights partnership with commercial real estate company wohninvest.
The 10-year contract signed between Bremer Weser-Stadion and the Stuttgart-based company will run until June 30, 2029 and will be worth around €30m (£26.7m/$33.7m). Under the deal, the 42,100-capacity stadium will be renamed as the wohninvest Weserstadion, with Werder stating that keeping the facility’s original moniker was a key part of any agreement.
Werder has spent the past two years analysing new models to secure the financial future of the Weserstadion, which first opened in 1947 and underwent a major renovation that ended in 2011. Werder previously held a stadium partnership with energy company EWE, although that agreement did not include naming rights.
News of an impending naming rights partnership has been reported in recent weeks leading to protests from Werder fans. However, the club maintains that closing the funding gap from its own resources would have significantly impacted on its financial health.
Werder chairman Klaus Filbry said: “Wohninvest is a partner who believes in Werder. The cooperation gives us the financial flexibility to further develop our unique home base and not least our club for competition with the best clubs in Germany. It was important to us to find a partner who identified itself with the name Weserstadion in addition to its own interests.”
Wohninvest managing director Harald Panzer added: “We have been a Werder partner for a year and have a box in the stadium. During this time, we got to know Werder’s officials as serious and competent partners.
“We are united in the goal of bringing SV Werder forward and creating the necessary framework conditions. In recent decades, Werder has built this stadium into one of the most beautiful in Germany with an incredible show of strength. We now want to help secure this achievement.
“Of course, we expect a brand presence throughout Germany. But we are also happy that we can ensure that the name Weserstadion is preserved.”
Image: Werder Bremen
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