German Soccer Field to be Renamed After Paul Kalkbrenner

The home ground of SV Sparta Lichtenberg will be called Paul Kalkbrenner Sportfeld as the DJ and producer famously played for the German soccer club.

German soccer club SV Sparta Lichtenberg is changing the name of its home grounds to honor Paul Kalkbrenner, one of its previous players who also happens to be a globetrotting DJ and producer.

The 1,000-person field in Rummelsburg is now known as Sportplatz Fischerstraße but will be renamed to Paul Kalkbrenner Sportfeld. The naming ceremony will take place on September 27, as will a charity match between SV Sparta Lichtenberg and “Team Kalkbrenner,” the details of which have yet to be announced.

The decision was made between Kalkbrenner, the club, and the Lichtenberg district office. “We’re naturally very pleased about this,” Sparta Lichtenberg department head Mathias Geyer told Berliner Morgenpost. “He used to play soccer for us and is still in good contact with the club.”

Paul Kalkbrenner’s career in dance music extends back to the late ’90s, when he released his first EPs after drawing inspiration from records by seminal Detroit techno group Underground Resistance. His output over the years includes EPs, albums, and even the score of the film Berlin Calling. His most popular track, “Sky and Sand,” sold more than 200,000 copies.

In addition to playing soccer for SV Sparta Lichtenberg, Kalkbrenner famously worked to ensure that the World Cup Trophy would visit Lichtenberg after Germany won it in 2014. At the time, he performed a DJ set at the very stadium that is now taking his name.

Kalkbrenner is performing at [UNVRS] in Ibiza on Saturday, September 20, with additional tour dates next month including Ushuaïa Ibiza on October 11 and Theater Amsterdam on October 23.