The European Commission has approved €75 million in German state funding for the construction and operation of a new 15,000-capacity stadium in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony.
The aid will support a stadium intended to host professional football matches as well as other sports and cultural activities, the Commission noted in a release on Wednesday.
The beneficiary will be Stadion Oldenburg GmbH & Co. KG, a company wholly owned by the City of Oldenburg.
The stadium will be built by a general contractor chosen through an EU-wide tender process.
How the Commission assessed the aid
The Commission assessed the funding under EU state aid rules, including Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows certain support that facilitates economic activities under specific conditions.
The measure was approved because it was judged appropriate for the project, necessary due to a lack of sufficient private financing, and proportionate in scope, with limited effects on competition and trade between EU member states.
A non-confidential version of the decision will be published in the Commission’s State Aid Register under case number SA.122175 once confidentiality checks are completed.
