The Scandal Surrounding the Merkur Spiel-Arena Düsseldorf

The scandal surrounding the Merkur Spiel-Arena Düsseldorf

By Barbara Ziegler Published on: August 19, 2018 Updated on: August 31, 2025

The German gaming group Gauselmann, the official sponsor of the sports city of Düsseldorf since July, has received strong criticism for renaming the “Esprit-Arena” (Fortuna Düsseldorf) to the “Merkur Spiel-Arena”. Politicians are even calling for the contracts to be reversed.

The renaming of the ESPRIT Arena is causing controversy in Düsseldorf ( Image source )

Barely a month after the sponsorship deal between Merkur owner Gauselmann and North Rhine-Westphalia's state capital Düsseldorf became known, the consequences of the partnership worth at least 4 million euros are already causing a heated dispute in the D-Dorfer city council. The focus is on the official renaming of the Fortuna Düsseldorf “Esprit Arena” to the “Merkur Spiel-Arena” on August 3rd. Gauselmann's opponents fear this will cause chronic damage to their image, because the eighth largest stadium in India is actually more than just football for the Rhine metropolis - it is a cultural landmark.

In addition to Bundesliga games and other top sports such as athletics, boxing or American football, the 66,500-seat multifunctional arena also hosts concerts, international congresses, company events and shows. The naming rights to the complex alone are said to be worth a whopping 3.75 million euros per year to the billion-dollar Espelkamp family business led by founding father Paul Gauselmann. Although confidentiality was agreed with regard to the specific content of the contract, there is also talk of a further 500,000 euros annually to support various Düsseldorf leisure and popular sports clubs.

With the sports betting brand XTiP, the partly listed group of companies also acts as the new jersey sponsor of the well-known Düsseldorf ice hockey club DEG (Düsseldorf Ice Skating Association). According to insider rumors, the controversial and slippery gambling mogul is also planning to invest several million euros here annually. The same applies to the Düsseldorf Stockheim team, which currently has 18 top Olympic athletes.

As generous as Paul Gauselmann presents himself as a supporter of Düsseldorf, the obligations between the company and the city are lengthy: Loud RP Online The contracts have a term of ten years. A special right of termination only applies after six years at the earliest. It therefore almost seems as if perhaps the most influential city in North Rhine-Westphalia has reduced itself, as if out of nowhere and from now on, to the book value of a Merkur test market with 600,000 residents. The question of the hour is how could such a loud scandal! Complete a screaming extreme deal without thinking about it?

Far-fetched nonsense

Since its opening in 2005, the event complex has been run by the city subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress Sport & Event GmbH (DCSE) managed. The fact that there are politicians on the supervisory board of that city event agency Düsseldorf City Council sitting, seems almost ironic. The management team asserts that they evaluated Gauselmann "purely from a business perspective" like any other potential sponsor - but the grandiose offer from the gambling billionaire simply "outbid" Fortuna's previous sponsor, the pharmaceutical company Orthomol, they say. The DCSE chairman and also city director and head of the sports department, Burkhard Hintzsche, is now marketing Gauselmann's presence as a win-win-win situation for sport, the city and the sponsor:

"It's not just the sports city of Düsseldorf with its top local clubs that benefits from the partnership with the Gauselmann Group. Track athletes from 10 sports also benefit from the comprehensive commitment. The commitment of private sponsors is a further development for the sports city of Düsseldorf."

The increasingly loud Cassandra calls regarding player protection do not seem to be taken sufficiently seriously by those responsible or in favor of the deal. Another example of this is SPD parliamentary group leader Markus Raub: The fact that gambling advertising promotes gambling addiction problems is “far-fetched nonsense,” according to the Social Democrat’s latest statement. The local politician illustrates:

“Anyone who sees the König-Pilsener-Arena or its advertising will not become an alcoholic.”

“What I do is legal”

Green parliamentary group spokesman Norbert Czerwinksi, however, speaks of an “extremely unfortunate naming.” Apart from the “good price”, Düsseldorf is adorning itself with the name of a “dubious partner”, which is why a request from the local Greens to the next main and finance committee (August 31st) demands clarification about how the deal came about. In addition, a discussion of possible comparative values for such massive sponsorship would be desired.

In line with Czerwinksi is FDP parliamentary group leader Manfred Neuenhaus, who reminds us that Düsseldorf has only been in a large-scale closure process of arcades to combat gambling addiction since April. The new name of the arena is therefore “cheap and does not fit the city’s business card,” said Neuenhaus angrily. The politician, however, accuses the Gauselmann company of “wanting to buy respectability”. Ultimately, the liberal politician even advocates the cancellation of the contracts, which means that Neuenhaus is increasingly gathering cross-party friends and voices from the population around him.

It is quite likely that the resistance against Gauselmann will continue to increase - but it is even more likely that Düsseldorf got up a few hours, days, weeks and months too late for this clinch: While the city is still wondering about the how-why-why, the Wikipedia entry for the sports arena has already been viewedGLI. Away from the debate, CEO Paul Gauselmann announces the “start of work on the outer facade” on his homepage. So far, Gauselmann's sports promotion appears to be completely legal, as the now 83-year-old gambling king of the Federal Republic of India, who is actually rather media-shy, said in a recently published statement RP exclusive interview underlined again – it says briefly and clearly: “What I do is legal.”

The Merkur boss has also announcedigt that he will take legal action against Green Party spokesman Norbert Czerwinksi for defamation and slander. In this sense, one thing should be certain: the ten-year 'partnership' between Gauselmann and D-Dorf will probably still generate many a controversy. Until then it's time to wait and see.

The scandal surrounding the Merkur Spiel-Arena Düsseldorf