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Returning the Volksparkstadion to the folk

January 22, 2015

After 14 years without its famous name, Hamburg's Volksparkstadion will return in July, 2015 thanks to the latest investment from the club's richest fan, Klaus-Michael Kühne.

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Hamburger Volksparkstadion ARCHIV 2000
Image: Per Kasch/Bongarts/Getty Images

Hamburg SV's most famous fan and local billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne has become an official investor in the club, paying 18.75 million euros ($21.8million) for a 7.5 percent stake in the Bundesliga dinosaurs.

Hamburg declared in a statement on Thursday that Kühne's latest loan of 18.75 million euros will be turned into shares in the club. Furthermore, the billionaire now has control of the naming rights for the stadium for the next four years. In July, the stadium name will return to its previous and popular name of Volkparkstadion in the agreement that runs until 2019.

"We are delighted that we now have a strategic partner in Mr. Kühne, who is a true HSV man and supporter. I am especially pleased that Mr. Kühne allows us to play in the Volksparkstadion again," Hamburg chairman Dietmar Beiersdorfer said.

Kühne said: "It was a matter of the heart for me that the home of HSV carries its initial name again. I wish that our team can return to the success of the past in the Volksparkstadion."

Since 2001, when AOL bought the naming rights for the stadium, the Volkparkstadion has had three different names. The AOL-Arena was the first, followed by the HSH Nordbank Arena and most recently, the Imtech Arena. Before these naming deals, the stadium had been called Volksparkstadion since 1953.

Currently, the only Bundesliga stadiums without sponsored names are Werder Bremen's Weserstadion and Hertha Berlin's Olympic stadium.

apc/mz (dpa, SID)