After league re-structuring in 1974 the team played in the Oberliga Nord (III) where they won the championship in 1987 and then emerged out the promotion playoffs to join the 2.

Meppen played their way into the final eight of the 1997 DFB-Pokal competition on the strength of a memorable 6–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

The club's eleven-year run on the professional circuit ended in 1998 and they began a slide that landed them in the Oberliga Nord (V), where played half a dozen seasons burdened by ongoing financial problems.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

The stadium's largest ever crowd of 18,000 spectators watched SV Meppen play a 1982 friendly against a Barcelona team that included Diego Maradona.