Top-class sport in the Metropolitan Region Nuremberg grows closer together

“Top-class sport is a great flagship for the European Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg,” stated Andreas Starke, President of the Metropolitan Region Council and Bamberg’s mayor. Together with Professor Dr. Klaus L. Wübbenhorst, Chairman of the Metropolitan Region’s Economic Management, Andreas Starke invited representatives from top-class sport to Brose's headquarters in Bamberg on January 8, 2019, on behalf of the Metropolitan Region’s Sports Forum with the goal of launching new forms of cooperation in regional top-class sport.

“We aim to enable networking among top-class sport in the European Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg,” declared Professor Wübbenhorst. The initiative met with great approval: For the first time, representatives from top sports clubs and organizers in the region – 1. FC Nürnberg (soccer and tennis), Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (soccer), Brose Bamberg (basketball), medi Bayreuth (basketball), Nürnberg Ice Tigers (ice hockey), HC Erlangen (handball), Motor Sport Nürnberg (car racing) and Team Challenge Roth (triathlon) – got together around one table.

They aim to take a coordinated approach moving ahead. The participants in the working meeting also intend to focus on what they have in common and engage in regular dialog in the future. Specifically, the representatives agreed to establish five working groups on the subjects of youth development, communication and marketing, sponsorship, human resources, and organization of a joint event. “Rivalry is out. We want to encourage collaboration,” was how Council President Andreas Starke summed up the kickoff meeting.

Starke also recalled that the Metropolitan Region Council had adopted a pioneering policy statement on cooperation with the sports clubs last summer and has subsequently launched the new partner status “Top-class Sport in the Metropolitan Region.” Starke added: “The representatives from top-class sport are important ambassadors for the Metropolitan Region and we aim to leverage their media presence and popularity. These top-flight sports events bolster the region’s good image and visibility nationally and internationally.”

“It’s a clear win-win situation,” was how Brose Bamberg’s Managing Director Arne Dirks summarized the first meeting. “The clubs and institutions can now rub minds and share ideas. The Metropolitan Region Nuremberg offers all of us a framework for presenting ourselves to best-possible effect. Vice versa, the Metropolitan Region benefits from its professional sports clubs. I look forward to the coming meetings and our work together moving ahead.”