FC St. Pauli’s board is debating the future of its stadium. Options range from expanding the current Millerntor-Stadion to building an entirely new venue with capacity for up to 50,000 spectators.

Visions for the future: more than just football

The discussion was sparked in part by Hamburg’s potential Olympic bid, which includes plans to use Millerntor-Stadion as a field hockey venue. But conversations about the stadium’s future had already been circulating, such as the ideas published on the fan blog Millernton under the motto Think big – Das Millerntor im Jahr 2050.

Proposals go beyond seating capacity: they also suggest facilities for other sports, a multi-purpose hall, and sustainable design solutions. Relocating the stadium is another option on the table. Meanwhile, AG Stadion, a group formed at the 2023 fan congress, has developed its own concepts. These plans, not yet made public, were recently presented to club officials. In July, club executives met with representatives of the initiative. As managing director Wilken Engelbracht noted, the stadium is already too small for the level of demand: It’s a long-term project, but one we must actively pursue.

© Matt Rayns - Groundhopper

Infrastructure struggles to keep pace

The issue goes beyond the stadium itself. FC St. Pauli now has more than 52,000 members across 30 disciplines, and club president Oke Göttlich speaks of serious growing pains, with facilities stretched thin. Officials admit that finding the right solution will take time, but insist the priority is to match infrastructure with rising demand. The club says it is constantly analyzing ways to improve facilities and expects support from the city. One realistic scenario is to increase the Millerntor’s capacity by closing off the open corners, seen as a first step to adapting the ground to the scale of interest that every St. Pauli match now generates.