Among them were the players and their coaching and support staff, club employees, board members, and sponsors, as well as numerous representatives from the construction companies involved.

After the welcome, Niklot von Bülow, Technical Director of the construction firm Ed. Züblin AG – Northeast Division, opened the event with introductory remarks on the construction project. He praised the close collaboration among all involved and highlighted the scale and technical features of the future Alte Försterei training centre.

Union President Dirk Zingler then spoke about the significance and impact of the project. “We are investing around 40 million euros here, in the immediate vicinity of our stadium, and creating a first in German professional football: for the first time, our two professional teams—men and women—will practice their profession under the same conditions, under one roof and on the same training pitches,” he said. “We’re doing this because we’re convinced that in the end, everyone will benefit, the men as well as the women, and ultimately the entire club. Our goal will always be to have both professional teams competing in the top division. Achieving that remains a challenge, but it becomes easier when we continuously improve the conditions for it. And that’s exactly what we’re doing here at this location.”

The shared home of both professional squads spans a gross floor area of approximately 4,100 square meters across three floors. It will feature state-of-the-art changing room areas with recovery pools, a sauna, and a cold chamber, as well as spacious sports and physical therapy rooms, attractive lounge areas, offices, and meeting rooms. The players are scheduled to move in at the end of the year. Training will take place on a total of four training pitches in the future, including two with regular full-size dimensions. With the construction of a full-size natural grass pitch atop a parking garage for approximately 300 vehicles, Union are setting new standards and underscoring their commitment to combining innovative solutions with professional working conditions.

Today’s topping-out ceremony deliberately followed the traditional sequence for such events and underscored the significance of this phase in the construction phase. The placement of the festively decorated wreath and the carpenters’ ceremonial speech combined the wish for the building’s good fortune and protection with thanks to all those involved. This was followed by the symbolic hammering of a nail by Dirk Zingler as a sign of 1. FC Union Berlin’s active participation in the construction project, before he, as the client, thanked all the craftsmen and women for their efforts.

At the topping-out feast, guests took the opportunity to mingle personally on rooftop home of the future second training pitch. All guests also had the opportunity to get to know the Union pros new home during guided tours of the construction site.

The topping-out ceremony marks an important milestone on the path to the completion of the Alte Försterei training centre and another chapter in the development of professional football at 1. FC Union Berlin.