Red Bull to Develop RB Leipzig Stadium

Red Bull has agreed to acquire the home stadium of its German Bundesliga football club RB Leipzig in a deal that is set to see the energy drinks giant redevelop the facility instead of pursuing a new stadium.

Red Bull has agreed the deal with the Red Bull Arena’s owner and operator Michael Kölmel, hospital with the acquisition subject to approval from the City of Leipzig and other local authorities. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the LVZ.de website said the purchase price is around €70m ($75m).

The former Zentralstadion was redeveloped at a cost of €116m for Germany’s staging of the 2006 Fifa World Cup. LVZ.de said Red Bull will invest around €40m in a new redevelopment project that will boost capacity by around 14,000 to 57,000 seats. Work is scheduled to begin in 2018.

RB Leipzig had been targeting a new 60,000-seat stadium in the north of the city, but will now commit its future to its current home. Oliver Mintzlaff, managing director of RB Leipzig, said: “It is special to have an inner city stadium. This is where we have celebrated many emotional football festivals. As far as emotions are concerned, there was no other option.”

RB Leipzig has been the story of the 2016-17 Bundesliga season. Fuelled by the investment of Red Bull, the club has marked its first season in the top division by riding high at the top of the standings. However, Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich means its rival will finish 2016 three points clear at the top of the table.