the tier III Bayernliga, with a short three-year spell in the fourth division Landesliga Bayern-Mitte in the late 1980s. At this time, the club started to have large financial problems. In 1990, Fürth celebrated a 3–1 victory in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal play over first division side Borussia Dortmund before going out 0–1 to 1. FC Saarbrücken in the second round. They returned to the Bayernliga (III) in 1991 and the Regionalliga Süd (III) in 1994. But still, the club's financial issues became bigger, and they were forced to sell their ground to the local businessman Conny Brandstätter. As the financial problems continued to grow, the president of SpVgg, Edgar Burkhart, arranged a deal with Helmut Hack, president of TSV Vestenbergsgreuth, to let TSV join the SpVgg and changing the name of the Spielvereinigung to the name SpVgg Greuther Fürth, which is still in use. The SpVgg so had the chance to get back in both financial and on-pitch success, while TSV could grow bigger in the city of Fürth than it would have been possible in the village of Vestenbergsgreuth. TSV Vestenbergsgreuth Meanwhile, the small village team of TSV Vestenbergsgreuth was established 1 February 1974 and debuted as a fourth division side. They advanced into the Amateur Oberliga Bayern (III) in 1987, just as SpVgg Fürth was descending to play in the division the more junior club had just escaped. TSV took part in the national amateur playoff round in 1988 and 1995. Their best performance came in the 1995 DFB-Pokal when they upset Bayern Munich 1–0, and then beat FC 08 Homburg 5–1, before being eliminated in the third round of the competition by VfL Wolfsburg on penalty kicks. SpVgg Greuther Fürth At the time when Vestenbergsgreuth's football branch was incorporated in 1996, in which TSV's football players came over to Fürth, both clubs were playing at about the same level in Regionalliga Süd (III). The SpVgg was runner-up behind long-term rival 1. FC Nürnberg in the division the next year, and so earned promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga after 18 years, and played in the second tier at the first time since 1979. At this time, the Sportpark Ronhof, now called Playmobil Arena, faced the first major redevelopment since the post-war years and the construction of the old main stand in 1950. They built new stands on three of the four sides of the