July 25th, the historic founding date of Hertha BSC, also plays an important role for the present and future of the club. For July 25, 2025, the club had actually planned the opening of its new stadium, which is now obsolete.
Ingmar Pering and Christian Wolter hope that they will have more luck with their plans for July 25, 2022. Then, just in time for the club’s 130th birthday, its founding ship, Hertha, will sail across the water again for the first time after an extensive renovation. “That is ambitious,” thinks Wolter and sounds rather skeptical. Unlike Pering: “I believe in it,” he says.
Five years ago the current board member of Hertha BSC (Pering) and the former board member (Wolter) bought the ship, to which their club owes both its name and the colors. The plan was always for Hertha to cross Berlin’s waters again at some point. “A ship belongs on the water,” says Wolter.
After a few twists and turns, unexpected complications, setbacks and a crash course in bureaucracy, this plan now seems to be real. At the general meeting of the “1892st Schiffsbetriebs GmbH & Co. KGaA”, Pering and Wolter will announce to 1027 shareholders this Tuesday: We are going. Only when exactly is still open. “The timing depends very much on the financing,” says Pering.
The ship is currently in a shipyard in Oranienburg, which is entrusted with the extensive renovation work. In the past few weeks, Hertha – in keeping with the current state of the professional squad – has been completely gutted. “We did everything we could do with the Flex,” says Pering.
The crux of the matter is the financing
The total renovation is necessary because the Hertha has been classified as a historic ship and, according to a new EU directive, historic ships are no longer allowed to carry passengers. But that is exactly what Pering and Wolter always wanted. The Hertha is to become a ship for Hertha’s fans and members. “Our jaws dropped a bit,” says Wolter. The solution was: We have to turn Hertha into a passenger ship. In other words: The same rules and regulations apply to them as to any new ship.
There are now plans of how Hertha could look after the renovation. The condition with two open decks would correspond more closely to the historical original than was the case last after several renovations. Christian Wolter hopes for “a nostalgic touch” and a more plush than ultra-modern interior. The new, old steamer should even have a chimney – if only for decoration.
According to Pering and Wolter, it is difficult to quantify how much all of this will cost. “A lot of unforeseen things can happen there,” says Pering. If unexpected problems arise, which would be more normal than unusual given the historical substance, “it can quickly cost 20,000 euros more”. The money for the first work at the shipyard is available, the rest is to be generated through sponsors and advertisers. Talks are currently underway about bridging finance in the form of a loan.
It is unlikely that all work will be completed by next summer, including the interior fittings. “But we’ll be able to drive technically by spring,” says Ingmar Pering. “And financially we can do it.”
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