Bundesliga side SpVgg Greuther Fürth have cancelled their plans to build a new stadium. Instead, the club announced an agreement with the owner of the site of the Trolli ARENA, their present home, to stay there until at least 2040.
The Trolli ARENA, earlier called Sportplatz Ronhof, has been the home of Fürth since 1910, which makes it one of the oldest stadiums in Germany, though the oldest part of the stadium, the main stand, stems from 1951.
The stadium underwent several renovations in the last two decades, but it remained a rather limited affair, especially according to Bundesliga standards, and the club therefore presented plans to move to a new €35-million stadium with a capacity of 20,000 places in the south of the city.
What also spurred the club’s desire to move away from their traditional home was a conflict with land owner Conny Brandstätter, who wanted part of the proceeds resulting from the naming rights deal with sweets manufacturer Trolli.
In the last few weeks, Fürth and Brandstätter suddenly found common ground though, which took away part of the rationale for a move. What’s more, the rapid ascent of the club to the Bundesliga made them decide to modernise and expand the Trolli ARENA to a capacity of 18,000 over the summer. An additional investment in a modern, but only slightly bigger, new stadium would therefore be too much of a financial burden.
The new stadium plans have therefore been officially shelved, but whether this means that the club will instead aim to further redevelop the Trolli ARENA is unclear.
The Trolli ARENA is currently the smallest stadium of the Bundesliga and, together with Freiburg’s MAGE SOLAR Stadion, the only that has not been newly built or completely redeveloped in recent years.
Photo credits: © Magnus Gertkemper