Sports Sponsoring

Supporting projects in the areas of sports, social issues and culture has always been a major concern for the Gauselmann family. As a result, many regional amateur and numerous professional clubs from a wide range of sports can rely on support from the MERKUR company - even and especially in difficult times!

Regional commitment

Another matter close to the entrepreneurial family’s hearts is the promotion and sponsorship of local sports. Many local sports clubs and initiatives benefit from this passion. Year after year, the available financial support makes it possible to realise a wide variety of sporting projects with a focus on promoting youth work, organise sporting events or tournaments, or buy sports equipment. Without this support, the company sports association “Betriebssportgemeinschaft MERKUR Gauselmann e.V.”, with some 1,000 members, would also not be able to offer such a wide range of sporting activities. The company also supports local professional sport. For example, the MERKUR GROUP is the main sponsor of the TuS N-Lübbecke national league handball team, of the FC Preußen Espelkamp regional football league team, and of the Espelkamp-Mittwald e.V. tennis club (TVE), whose winning Bundesliga men’s teams in the 30s and 70s age groups have taken home the German Championship title several times. One top player from TVE even made world champion in the over-75s age group in 2017.

Engagement in professional sports

But even beyond regional borders, numerous sports organisers, associations and individual athletes are sponsored by the sports-loving entrepreneur and his family. The company has also sponsored the world-class ATP 500 tennis tournament in Halle (Westphalia) for many years. This was expanded in 2020 with support for the new sponsorship concept for the OWL Arena (formerly Gerry Weber Stadium). Besides sports sponsorship for the Bundesliga football club DSC Arminia Bielefeld, the MERKUR GROUP is also financially and ideologically involved together with other renowned companies in the so-called Eastern-Westphalia-Lippe (OWL) alliance that aims to promote the long-term continuity and re-establishment of the club. With its CASHPOINT sportsbetting brand, the group has also provided the name and been main sponsor of the Austrian Bundesliga club CASHPOINT SCR Altach since 2006.

MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA

Since 2018, the MERKUR GROUP has extended its long-standing commitment in the sports sector beyond regional borders and has since also presented itself in the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. There, the MERKUR GROUP is the sponsor and namesake of the Düsseldorf multifunctional arena. The 54,600-seat "MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA" is home to second-division soccer team Fortuna Düsseldorf. Thanks to its multifunctional design, including a closable roof, the arena also hosts numerous concerts, shows and other sporting events.