The longing for spectacle and celebration is huge. Schalke 04 is the only club still waiting for its first home goal this season. All of the other 146 clubs up to the regional league have already achieved this. And so the promoted team finds itself in 17th place after nine match days.
However, it's not just players who should make big appearances in the arena. But also music stars. At least that is the wish of those responsible. It's about millions - which the Revier club urgently needs. The current figures show how dependent S04 is on renting out the stadium for concerts. While the 2024/2025 season was an absolute hit in this regard, the 2023/2024 season was much quieter.
In the area of “gaming operations and events” alone, sales fell by 6.5 million euros, and there was also a lack of income from catering. If you take into account the expenses for hosting the concerts, Schalke earned around two million euros less. Money with which the club could pay two potential top performers.
More than 1,000 events take place in the arena every year - including wedding parties and graduation balls. But the concerts provide the big income. The newcomer is longing for a month like July 2024. Taylor Swift performed three times in the Veltins Arena, the band Rammstein even five times. The income from such shows varies: The metal fans primarily ensured high beer consumption. Since Schalke owns the catering rights in its own stadium, the majority of the money goes into the club's coffers.
Things were different with Taylor Swift: Because the concert was mainly attended by families and teenagers, significantly fewer drinks were sold. In return, Schalke secured shares in the sale of fan items - which are extremely popular with the “Swifties”. Depending on the concert and guests, the Revier-Klub earns between 200,000 and one million euros per evening.
Now this summer could have been a real windfall. The “Backstreet Boys” played their European concert series in Germany. Ten appearances. But they preferred to perform in Düsseldorf rather than in Gelsenkirchen. The assumption of those responsible at Schalke: Because the arena in the NRW state capital is owned by the city, the organizer had to pay significantly less rent. “D.Live”, the subsidiary of the city of Düsseldorf, did not want to specifically answer the “Sport Bild” query about how much rent the pop band had to pay for the concerts. But the tax revenue from the thousands of nights spent in hotels by the fans alone probably satisfied the city. So Schalke was left behind. There would have been millions with which the club could have upgraded the squad.
In this 2026/27 season, income is expected to increase slightly again. The Böhse-Onkelz concert in July was a commercial success, followed next June by Herbert Grönemeyer and Die Toten Hosen. But there is still no flood of concerts. Those responsible are therefore trying to take countermeasures. The test games against Bergamo and Real Madrid during the pre-season brought in around one million euros, and the opening game of the Ice Hockey World Cup will take place in the arena next May.
Most recently, the club tried to play the Europa League game between Besiktas Istanbul and Hapoel Beer Sheva. Due to the massive political tensions between Turkey and Israel, the game will be played on neutral soil. However, the security concerns - including from the Ministry of the Interior - were too high. And so S04 continues to look for new stars. In every way.
