BIELEFELD, Germany -- Arminia Bielefeld's managing director, Markus Rejek, points to the worn-out seats in the west stands of the Schuco Arena, the Bielefelder Alm, one of the famous old German football grounds, and one of the few in the country that's located in the heart of a city where, on match days, locals sell beer to fans out of their gardens. Built in 1926, the terraces reach down all the way to the pitch, with time slowly washing the blue paint off the seats.
"We'll need to replace them at one point," the 52-year-old Rejek says, before gesturing up at the terraces in the south end behind the goal where the diehard supporters fly their flags.