The VERDO in Hitzacker is one of the most renowned event centers in the region. It was built according to the needs of the chamber music festival “Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker”, though a possible future use of the facilities for conferences and seminars was considered as well. Since 1987 the owners – the City of Hitzacker and the Samtgemeinde Lüchow-Dannenberg – have made attempts to place the VERDO on the market and to rent it to other organizers of events. These attempts have not turned out to be successfully enough: The VERDO GmbH is facing severe financial problems. Still, the owners are in need of this event center, as the chamber music festival constitutes a cultural landmark for the whole region that is generating national attention and incoming tourists.

A deep analysis of the business model is necessary in order to elaborate the VERDO’s potentials and to identify possible development paths for the event center.