Sudstadion

The Südstadion The rest is plain: concrete stands, floodlights, and a patch of green that is kept flat by under-soil heating. The ground has survived the city's changes. When ownership passed from the Council to Kölner Sportstätten GmbH in 1999, the club moved with it. The complex took the name of Jean Löring, the long-serving president, but the stadium kept its own title. It is not a place built for glory; it is built for the second division, for the Regionalliga. The capacity is 11,748, but the crowd rarely fills the shell seats installed in 2008. Fortuna Köln are not sitting idle. The surface is natural grass, kept green by the heating system installed in 2015. It is not the biggest ground in Germany, but it is their home. The players leave through the tunnels, head down, and the city watches them go.