Stuttgart – Warm rain over the Mercedes-Benz Arena! The VfB Stuttgart has landed a financial coup with the marketing giant Sportfive, which will flush more than a quarter billion euros into the coffers in the next five years.
The unembellished Swabian truth hurts: hardly any goals, few points, direct relegation zone, only Schalke 04 is worse!
All those who stick with VfB should be all the more relieved to react to the sudden windfall. As picture reports, CEO Alexander Wehrle (48) and Marketing Director Rouven Kasper (41) are said to have managed to thread a mega deal for the clammy VfB.
Means: Thanks to the five-year cooperation with marketing giant Sportfive, the club generates a proud 255 million euros! Calculated for the year, the lucrative earnings amount to 50 million. Money that VfB can use more than well in its current situation.
Grifo ice cold from the point! Stuttgart caught cold in the relegation battle
The Stuttgart slump in the Bundesliga (last three bankruptcies in a row) force those responsible to act. With the new deal, the battered Swabians can at least have some hope for a more stable sporting future. After all, around five million euros in hand money jump out directly for VfB.
The windfall enables the people of Cannstatt to have the planning security they so long for. The imminent exit of the sponsor Mercedes-Bank also shows how great the value of the new mega deal really is. This would have increased the pressure for new investors and sponsors without the now proven VfB touch.
However, one question remains: Why did the international sports marketing agency Sportfive, which also has a hand in Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern Basketball and FIFA, put out its feelers to the comparatively “poor” VfB of all places?
The solution to the riddle could be the significantly improved marketing opportunities after the stadium renovation for the European Championship next year, which should be completed in early 2024.
And then there are the good connections from Marketing Director Rouven Kasper to FC Bayern Munich. Before his time with the German record champions, he had worked for Sportfive for ten years from 2016 to 2022.
VfB coach Labbadia rages after penalty defeat: referee “defeated”!
After many years of cooperation with the new marketing giant, the Swabians’ financial liberation seems to have been impressively successful. The question will be whether that releases enough power to achieve sporting success…