The Allianz Arena

Following on from the Grünwald Stadium and later the Olympic Stadium, the stunning ground in the north of Munich is the third home venue in Bayern’s long Bundesliga history, and certainly the most spectacular. Europe’s most modern stadium, with a capacity of nearly 70,000, has already established itself in the collective conscience of football fans all over the world within a short timescale.

Visitors continue to be particularly impressed by the facade. 2,760 diamond-shaped cushions form the world’s biggest membrane cladding covering an area of 66,500 m². Even if it is not your first visit, it’s hard to believe the evidence of your own eyes at night matches when the whole stadium appears to be red when viewed from the outside. The three-tier interior of the Allianz Arena has extraordinary acoustics that rapidly turn the stadium into a cauldron when hosting thrilling encounters.

No surprise that the Allianz Arena is nearly always full to the rafters. Last season saw nearly two million fans visit the stadium with all 69,000 seats being sold out for all 17 Bundesliga home games. Bayern’s 27 competitive games attracted 1.824 million fans to the Arena - an average of 67,555 per match, and an incredible attendance record. And this season should also see a take-up rate of 100 percent: shortly after the Bundesliga fixtures were announced at the beginning of July, more than half of Bayern’s league games in the Allianz Arena were sold out.

What brings the fans streaming to Fröttmaning in their tens of thousands? The stars of the mighty Bayern Munich of course. But the fans can also expect to be well looked after, both before and after the game. 6,000 m² of catering facilities take care of culinary requirements. Europe’s biggest multi-storey car park provides nearly 10,000 parking spaces. ?A big plus point for the Arena is its ability to match the needs of a broad range of supporters. There are 13,500 reasonably priced tickets for the standing terraces at Bundesliga games. 2,200 business seats and 106 executive boxes with a total of 1,374 seats provide the perfect surroundings for entertaining and commerce. And everything is done for wheelchair users: there is single level access to all 165 reserved seats.

This architectural wonder was conceived by world-renowned architects Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Particular pride can be taken by the fact that the Allianz Arena was positively welcomed by the Munich public. In a referendum held in the autumn of 2001 an overwhelming majority of 65.8 percent of Munich citizens voted in favour of the construction project. The foundation stone was laid on 21 October 2002. Less than three years later, Bayern Munich faced Germany on 31 May 2005 for the opening match in the Arena.

Bayern are now the sole shareholders in the Allianz Arena. TSV 1860 Munich, who were originally joint occupants of the stadium, are now tenants up to 30 June 2025. According to a survey conducted by political journal “Cicero”, the Allianz Arena is Germany’s favourite sports venue, and one of the top ten national sites of interest in the country just three years after it was built.