The City of Nürnberg and Bundesliga 2 football club FC Nürnberg have agreed a planning and financial framework for the redevelopment of Max-Morlock-Stadion, which is set for a “complete renovation”.
Nürnberg City Council has decided that the project should be planned and implemented by a general contractor. For the preliminary planning process, which will include an examination of potential savings on construction work, a contractor will be sought through a Europe-wide tender.
In a statement, FC Nürnberg noted that previous plans for the stadium assumed that any renovation work could be largely refinanced by improved revenue opportunities. A recent investigation has now revealed that previous calculations may have overestimated the potential ticket revenue for a newly-built stadium.
The stadium is owned by the city, and last June it was recommended that the council approve an estimated €290m (£243m/$315m) project to redevelop the venue.
In its statement released this week, the city cited the examples of Karlsruher SC and SC Freiburg as models for FC Nürnberg to follow. Both stadiums were planned and built by a general contractor.
Following the latest talks, Christian Vogel, chairman of the supervisory board for Stadion Nürnberg Betriebs-GmbH, said: “There were some intensive discussions between the city and the club. The shared desire to bring about something successful for the city and the club alike meant that each of us, within our respective areas of responsibility, had to jump through hoops a few times. We have found a common path forward with our project.
“The clear message is: We are moving forward; we are all still behind the project, both the city leadership and the vast majority of the city council and 1. FC Nuremberg. We are still planning a stadium with 50,000 seats for league use, which will be barrier-free, modern and sustainable. But in the further planning process, all the extras will be put to the test; we will have to build more functionally.
“There will be a clear reduction in construction costs. This is where the creativity of the potential total contractor is required. We want to set the framework, but not the last screw. We’ll provide detailed information over the coming weeks about what will happen in the coming months and what will happen to sub-projects like the remaining shell development. For now, the message: We’re moving forward; the project isn’t standing still.”
Last July, Stadion Nürnberg Betriebs-GmbH, which operates the stadium, signed a sponsorship deal with business software company Datev that will see Max-Morlock-Stadion retain its current name until at least 2026. The stadium has been named after club legend Max Morlock since 2017.
Max-Morlock-Stadion opened in 1928 and has a capacity of 50,000. It was last renovated 31 years ago and missed out on becoming a host venue for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.
