Hertha Berlin one step closer to leaving iconic Olympic Stadium for new 52,000 venue

Hertha Berlin have moved a significant step closer to leaving the iconic Olympiastadion after a Berlin Senate expert commission identified a potential site for a new 52,000-capacity stadium.

The recommended location on Jesse-Owens-Allee, within Berlin's Olympiapark, would allow Hertha to build a dedicated football stadium after more than a decade of searching for a suitable alternative to their current home.

Hertha Berlin's new stadium plans take major step forward

The proposed site is currently occupied by the Olympic Equestrian Stadium, which forms part of the protected Olympiapark complex and has a history dating back to the former Grunewald racecourse.

An expert commission appointed by the State of Berlin has concluded that the plot is suitable for stadium construction after assessing transport links, planning law, noise, environmental regulations and heritage concerns.

The commission has recommended that Hertha submit a preliminary planning application to the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district authorities to determine what would be required for the proposed stadium to be approved.

The project would provide Hertha with a purpose-built football venue holding up to 52,000 supporters, replacing the much larger Olympiastadion as the club's regular home.

Hertha have played at the Olympiastadion since the Bundesliga was formed in 1963, aside from a brief spell away during the 1980s, but the club believe the stadium is better suited to major national and international events than regular league football.

The new stadium would also have to be financed privately, with Berlin unable to fund the site's development under state guidelines.

A preliminary planning approval could therefore help Hertha attract investors and establish a viable financial plan.

However, the project is not yet approved, with the preliminary planning process still needing to address traffic, environmental, noise, heritage and building regulations before construction can be considered.

FGG Says: Hertha are finally making progress on a new stadium

The recommendation of Jesse-Owens-Allee as a potential site represents an important development after years of uncertainty surrounding Hertha's search for a new home.

A dedicated 52,000-capacity football stadium could give the club a venue better suited to its regular needs, but there are still several planning, heritage and financial hurdles to overcome.

For now, though, Hertha appear to have finally found a potential location, bringing their long-running ambition to leave the Olympiastadion closer to reality.