Union Berlin offers fans shares in new An der Alten Försterei stadium
Union Berlin fans are being given another opportunity to help shape the future of the club they love as the Bundesliga side prepares to revamp its iconic An der Alten Försterei stadium in the German capital.
One of European football's most instantly recognisable top-flight venues, the An der Alten Försterei Stadium is set to undergo a radical facelift that will see its capacity increased 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.
*For today. For tomorrow. Forever.
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 each to its nearly 70,000 club members.
"There is nothing more important than the connection people have with this club and with this place," said Union President Dirk Zingler in front of some 1300 club members gathered at the stadium to hear the announcement. "I would like some 40,000 owners to stand here in the stadium."
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Construction work is due to start in summer 2026 with Union spending the 2026/27 campaign as guests in Hertha Berlin's Olympiastadion home across the city, as they did when they played in the UEFA Champions League in 2023/24.
"It's not the case that this stock issue will finance the construction works," explained Zingler, confirming 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. “We want to use our club’s most valuable space for ourselves,” Zingler added.
Union's fans have long been committed to their club well beyond simply supporting the team through 90 minutes. In December 2011, Union club members were offered the opportunity to collectively own 58 per cent 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 Union's home since 1920.
"We want to make this offer again and give these people, these 70,000 club members, ownership of the stadium," said Zingler of the new initiative.
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