Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KgaA

BV Borussia Dortmund. BVB was founded 1909 by a group of young men unhappy with church-sponsored Trinity Youth, where they played football under the management of a stern local parish priest. It is reported that the priest had to be blocked at the door when he tried to break up the first organising meeting, which was being held in a room of the local pub! In 2001, Borussia Dortmund became the first – and so far only – publicly traded club on the German stock market. However, poor financial management led to crippling debts which forced the sale of their Westfalenstadion ground in 2003, which they now lease. By 2005 the club was driven to the brink of bankruptcy as the original €11 value of its shares plummeted by over 80% on the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange). The response to the crisis included a 20% pay cut to all players and in order to raise capital the stadium was renamed Signal Iduna Park, after a local insurance company - a sponsorship agreement that runs until 2011. The stadium is currently the largest in Germany with a capacity of 81,264 spectators, and it hosted several matches in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a semi-final. In 2007/08 Borussia Dortmund enjoyed the highest average attendance of any football club in Europe, at 77,510 per match. Major honours include 6 German Championships, 2 DFB Pokal Cups (German Football Federation Cup), 1 European Cup, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 European Cup Winners Cup.

Turnover and pre-tax profit figures are in Euro millions.

Financial Overview