A major event such as the European Football Championship is good for a city. It boosts tourism, generates more revenue for hotels and restaurants, and brings widespread attention to the region. For residents, it also offers the opportunity to be part of a major event right on their doorstep, perhaps attending events they would never have traveled to otherwise. It’s an opportunity that no one wants to miss out on.
Nevertheless, the city of Nuremberg has decided not to apply to host the 2029 Women’s European Championship. The DFB is applying to host the tournament even without Nuremberg. It is now clear which cities will be involved: Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, and Wolfsburg. A missed opportunity for Nuremberg? But the city has good reasons for deciding against an application, says stadium manager Paul Kaltenegger.
But first things first. Nuremberg was fundamentally interested in hosting games for the 2029 Women’s European Championship. According to Kaltenegger, the DFB had originally written to several cities to ask if they were interested in being part of the bid. To this end, he traveled to Frankfurt with around 30 to 40 representatives from other cities to visit the DFB campus, where the concept and requirements were presented. The cities then had several months to make their decision.
The trappings would have been possible
The problem in Nuremberg: the stadium. „Nuremberg actually has ideal conditions and a lot of experience for large sporting events,“ says Kaltenegger. Whether it’s hotel availability, logistics, parking spaces, accessibility or organizing fan festivals, Nuremberg is very good at hosting major events. Everything „all around“ would have been managed well. With the new stadium, the conditions would have been excellent - but the schedule threw a spanner in the works. „We would never have managed that.“
Accordingly, there were two realistic options. Either the city could have postponed the renovation of the stadium until after the European Championships and applied with the current one. „However, we quickly realized that we had no chance with the current stadium,“ says Kaltenegger. We would never have been able to compete with the other modern stadiums in the selection. This had already been shown in the bid to host the 2024 European Men’s Championship, where Nuremberg failed with the current stadium and was not considered as a venue.
The second option would have been to start with the renovation and then interrupt it for the European Championships. In this case, Nuremberg could have applied with a „half-finished“ stadium. „However, the risks and costs would have been disproportionate to the chances of success,“ explains Kaltenegger. So the city decided against an application.
One of the top stadiums in Germany
But this is not the last chance for Nuremberg. Of course, the new stadium should also be suitable for major events and offer space for over 40,000 spectators. „It should be one of the top stadiums in Germany,“ emphasizes the stadium manager. „We don’t know when and for which tournament the DFB will bid next, but then we want to be there.“
However, Nuremberg could also benefit from another bid. Munich has applied for the Olympic Games 36, 40 or 44. At least soccer matches could then also take place in Nuremberg. After all, only a limited number of games can be played on a soccer pitch without destroying the turf, says Kaltenegger.
In the past, smaller stadiums were often used for women’s soccer matches. „But you can see a big trend that more and more spectators are coming,“ says the stadium manager. „This means that large stadiums will also be in demand for these tournaments.“ Just as the new stadium in Nuremberg will be again. Major sporting events in Nuremberg should therefore only be a matter of time in the future.