a poor state of repair that its continued use was only on condition of the capacity being drastically cut to 18,100 spectators. In the late 1990s, Union were only allowed to continue playing at the Alte Försterei on the basis of special temporary licenses until the DFL (German Football League) stopped continue renewing these in 2006, meaning the stadium would soon no longer be eligible to stage any matches in the top three tiers of German football. The club were therefore forced to make a decision as to whether they would redevelop the Alte Försterei or make a permanent move to a different ground, something that which was unlikely to have been approved by large sections of the fan base who consider the ground to be the club's spiritual home. Redevelopment Phase 1 In the late 1990s the first plans for the future of Union's home began to be drawn up. After several years of planning and discussion on various proposals, the redevelopment of the Alte Försterei finally began at the end of the 2007/08 season. Along with the main work of replacing the crumbling stone and cinder terracing with concrete terracing and installing a roof over the previously open terraces, many other minor improvements were completed, such as the installation of new perimeter fencing, new seats in the main stand and undersoil heating and a digital scoreboard (although the famous old manual scoreboard in the corner between the Gegengerade terrace and the Zuckertor (waldseite) end of the ground has been retained). Most of the work during the redevelopment was carried out by over 2,300 supporters volunteering their services. Specialist firms were only called in for more complex tasks such as installing the cantilever roof. After playing their home matches at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district during the 2008/09 season, the stadium was re-opened on 8 July 2009 in time for a friendly against fellow Berlin side Hertha BSC. Phase 2 Originally planned for 2010, the second stage of refurbishment commenced when funding was insured in May 2012 with the deconstruction of the old main stand. The foundation-stone for the new, 3,617-capacity stand was laid in the following month. Work on it was completed in the summer of 2013, when the fully renovated stadium was inaugurated with a friendly match between Union and Celtic F.C. The new building, which is 100.5 m wide and 23.5 m high, also