Although Mainz have spent much of the current Bundesliga term trying to avoid the drop, things have started to pick up for them as of late.
Prior to the international hiatus, die Nullfünfer began to experience an uptick in results, with two wins and draw helping Bo Svensson's side to slowly begin to pull away from the bottom three.
With 24 points, they're not out of the woods just yet, as only two points separate Mainz from 17th-placed Arminia Bielefeld. But given fortune has smiled on Mainz and made sure that Arminia just so happen to be the first team Mainz will play after the latest international break, Svensson's men just may get the break they desperately need to start their ascent towards top-flight survival.
And off the pitch, things are starting to look pretty good as well.
Mainz have been playing at the Opel Arena since 2011, named as such due to a deal the team signed with automobile manufacturer Opel in 2016. With that contract set to expire this June, die Nullfünfer naturally had two options - either to possibly renew or to find another naming rights sponsor.
They opted for the latter.
Starting from the 2021/2022 season, Mainz will receive about $2.7 million (€2.3 million) per annum for five years from Mewa, a textile company. Interestingly, as per SportsBusiness Soccer, this deal is a improvement on the prior five year agreement Mainz had signed with Opel, which earned them about $2.2 million (€1.9 million) over the course of that deal.
Mewa and Mainz are already partners. The two have been in business since 2013, but this deal will obviously present a huge upgrade on Mewa's current deal which gives the company the naming rights to a lounge in the hospitality area and the grandstand at the venue.
