Marcus Uhlig, chairman of Rot-Weiss Essen, gives the fans hope for a stadium expansion.
He also reveals what he would like to see from a sporting point of view at Christmas 2023, i.e. in around a year’s time.
RWE is in first place in the away supporters’ table, and in second place in the home table. Many fans are asking when the stadium will be enlarged. What is the current status? And: Are you already starting to notice that RWE needs a bigger stadium?
We are currently working on an expansion concept together with the stadium operator, GVE. Increasing the capacity and closing the corners would benefit both GVE as a concert organiser and us – both economically and in terms of improved acoustics and more comfort for the spectators. However, there are many other aspects to the expansion planning, such as optimising transport connections, expanding parking capacities, catering in the stadium, expanding VIP and box areas and, in the end, things like energy efficiency and sustainability. As soon as this concept is ready, we will present it to Essen’s politicians. But I think it will take until summer 2023 before a political decision is made. Personally, like many others, I am firmly convinced that there are many good reasons for expanding the stadium.
How can one actually imagine the difference in your job between the regional league and the 3rd division?
On the one hand, it’s still “just” about football, but on the other hand, since the summer we’ve noticed very clearly that there are worlds between the Regionalliga and the 3rd Liga, which is also officially the first professional football league in Germany. Worlds in terms of organisation, worlds in terms of cooperation with the association and also in terms of media coverage. The responsibility has become incomparably greater because, of course, there are higher budgets in all areas, more staff in the office and also in the “sports department”, which has become larger. Maybe you can’t really imagine it as an outsider, but what is demanded today in the 3rd league, for example in the administrative area or also in the area of “sponsoring and partner support”, was top shelf in the 2nd league not so long ago.
Rot-Weiss Essen is referred to in every Magenta game by the commentators as a sleeping giant, a big club with incredible fans. Do you also notice this great respect among your counterparts from the other clubs?
Of course. When I talk to my colleagues from the visiting clubs at our home games, you notice a certain respect for our stadium and the backdrop, for the impact that the whole thing generates. But it’s by no means the case that anyone walks through the stadium with their mouth open and their eyes shining. There are too many clubs in the league for that, and they certainly have a comparable environment. We also notice that we are no longer in the Regionalliga, where we were perceived by almost everyone as the “Bayern Munich of the league”. That’s no longer the case, but respect and recognition from the competition are there.
Where should Rot-Weiss Essen go in the next two or three years?
Definitely not down again. In the course of the season, we will develop a kind of strategy concept and then also present it, where we see the club in terms of perspective and how we can increase probabilities so that these goals are achievable. This applies both to the sporting development and to the whole RWE business. What can we achieve as a club, what do we want to achieve by when and how can we do it…
Stand today – What do you hope to achieve: In which league, on which place in the table will Rot-Weiss Essen go into the winter break 23/24?
Ok, I’ll give you a short and precise answer: 3rd league, 8th place. That’s my Christmas wish for 2023.
When I talk to the colleagues from the visiting clubs at our home games, you notice a certain respect for our stadium and the backdrop, for the impact that the whole thing generates.
Marcus Uhlig
Back to this season: Do sporting director Jörn Nowak and coach Christoph Dabrowski still have financial leeway for possible reinforcements?
Please let me elaborate a bit more here. First of all, I am very pleased that we have managed to take the next step in terms of squad planning and strategy. This has long since ceased to be a one-man show. We have now installed a working group that meets regularly around Jörn, our chief scout Stanko Patkovic, Christoph Dabrowski and also Waldemar Wrobel from the Supervisory Board, in which sporting planning is sometimes quite controversial, but always very objective and with a high level of professionalism. For me, these are all examples of the much-cited “next step” that you want to take as a club, especially as a promoted club. In this area, we have taken a very important next step. If this group sends us the signal that we want to strengthen our team, then we will deal with it in the same way as we did last time, namely by working together with the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board to generate and approve any additional funds.
While we’re on the subject of finances: Main sponsor Harfid is in insolvency proceedings. When will RWE find out what happens next? And does the club have a plan B in case the contractually agreed money cannot be paid?
First of all, we can state that we are in a transparent and regular exchange with Harfid. Of course, we have to deal with a “Plan B”, which is currently happening in the background. On the other hand, we hope that together we will succeed in continuing the cooperation between Harfid and RWE in whatever form. There is no precise timetable for this, the whole situation is too dynamic for that. Hopefully, we will be wiser in a fortnight’ time.