Nürnberg stadium rights-holders helping fans pay to rename it
Nürnberg supporters are coming together with stadium name rights-holders Consorsbank to crowdfund the re-naming of their stadium in honour of club legend Max Morlock.
Previously this hasn't been possible thanks to the financial demands of stadium owners, the City of Nürnberg – but now there's a plan in place to meet their demands thanks to an unlikely crowdfunding alliance.
Nürnberg fans must raise €800,000 (£689,000) themselves to support the project between March 31 and May 14 – one quarter of the total expenditure – with the other third to be covered by Consorsbank, who have acquired the naming rights for at least three years.
Former Nürnberger Morlock was a member of West Germany’s World Cup-winning team of 1954, scoring 294 goals in 472 appearances for Der Club.
"We want to prove that it's possible to reconcile the interests of stadium operators and sponsors with the emotional needs of fans," Kai Friedrich, CEO of Consorsbank, told kicker.
"We are going to take the unusual way of crowdfunding – we want to show what a great community can do."
Nürnberg currently sit 10th in the 2.Bundesliga.
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