FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e.V. has successfully completed the sale of stadium shares to Auf Schalke eG, providing S04 with fresh equity. For €7.5 million, the supporters’ Cooperative is acquiring a portion of the club’s stake in the VELTINS-Arena stadium company.
After deducting the taxes due, the proceeds will help Schalke 04 continue to stabilise their finances. Backed by its members, the Cooperative will become a co-owner of the VELTINS-Arena, which further strengthens the close bond between the club and its fans.
“The supporters’ Cooperative makes it possible to inject fresh equity into the club. Thanks to this transaction, we can continue to reduce liabilities and, step by step, regain more room for manoeuvre in our decision-making,” explained Christina Rühl-Hamers, FC Schalke 04 board member responsible for finance. “After successfully refinancing our maturing bonds and repaying two state-guaranteed loans, the sale of stadium shares to our Cooperative is another important element of our financial restructuring. The transaction also supports our efforts to meet the DFL’s equity rule this year.”
Proceeds provide financial planning security
In total, the e.V. is transferring partial limited partnership interests in FC Schalke 04-Stadion-Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Immobilienverwaltungs-KG to the Cooperative, with a nominal value of €2.16 million. This corresponds to 5.4% of the stadium company. The company’s total share capital amounts to €40 million.
“This transaction is the first tangible result delivered by Auf Schalke eG. The Cooperative members have bought a real stake in their Royal Blue home. The shares in the VELTINS-Arena remain in Schalke hands, while the club strengthens its financial foundations at the same time – it’s a perfect deal,” said Matthias Tillmann, board member of Auf Schalke eG.
The agreed purchase price of €7.5 million is based on a current valuation of the stadium company. Part of the proceeds will be used by FC Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e.V. to buy back stadium shares from Stadtwerke Gelsenkirchen. In 2009, the club sold capital shares in the stadium company to Stadtwerke Gelsenkirchen, while securing a call option that allowed it to buy them back.
“By buying back shares from Stadtwerke Gelsenkirchen, we are reducing liabilities and increasing our club’s stake in the stadium company back to more than 50%, and therefore to the voting majority required for key decisions,” Rühl-Hamers explained.
“At the same time, Auf Schalke eG joining the ownership structure of the stadium company means that, overall, more VELTINS-Arena shares are once again in Schalke ownership – held by the club and, through the Cooperative, by our members. That’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
Members become co-owners of the VELTINS-Arena
The Cooperative Auf Schalke eG was founded at the end of 2024 to give club members and supporting companies a solidarity-based, democratically organised way to strengthen FC Schalke 04. Since subscriptions opened in January 2025, more than 8,000 Cooperative members have subscribed to shares worth around €8 million. “This broad base from the Schalke community is the foundation for the acquisition of shares in the stadium company that has now been completed, and it shows the enormous potential of our community,” added Michael Kalthoff, board member of Auf Schalke eG.