Overview

• Kreis Minden-Lübbecke has pushed back the arena’s completion twice, first from end-2024 to March 2025 and now to December 2025.
• GWD Minden will open the 2025/26 Handball-Bundesliga season in rival TuS N-Lübbecke’s venue 20 kilometres away.
• Sportbild reports the club and local authorities face six-figure relocation and rental expenses each season.
• Matches in Lübbecke draw considerably fewer spectators than in Minden, leading to sustained revenue shortfalls.
• The rivalry has escalated with previous derbies requiring police oversight and fueling fan and player confrontations.