Leverkusen sets date for championship celebration, venue remains unclear

Traditionally speaking, the team winning the Bundesliga title officially presents the Meisterschale to the city from the balcony of City Hall or some other institution overlooking a town square that can pack in the most citizens. Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s unprecedented league title presents this tradition with something a problem. North-Rhine Westphalia’s Leverkusen (population approximately 163,000) has no such venue to host the celebrations. 

Germany’s red company team represent a relatively small burg mostly built-up to accommodate the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the late 19th century. It is such that the municipality does not have a traditional center. The club has officially set the date for the Meisterschale celebration for May 26th; the day after the DFB Pokal Final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

It’s possible that the team will also present the Pokal and maybe even the Europa League trophy. Assuming that Bayer can continue to remain alive in the UEL, they might be able to capture the 2023/24 Europa League title at the Final in Dublin on May 22nd. Leverkusen will also be officially presented the Meisterschale after the conclusion of their final league fixture against Augsburg on May 18th. 

In an article covering the forthcoming celebration plans appearing on the website of Germany’s Kicker Magazine, the city administration is “considering” naming a street near in the stadium in honor of head-coach Xabi Alonso. Club supporters already unofficially christened the nearby “Bismarkstraße” the “Xabi-Alonso-Allee” via stickers on Sunday. 

Kicker reports that the city administration must first overturn a binding resolution that forbids naming city streets after personalities. Such a legal formality should, in the final analysis, pose no significant problem. A city council meeting scheduled for May 6th should enable local administrators to adopt whatever resolution the new “Xabi-Alonso-Allee” requires.