AOL Arena
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| AOL Arena | |
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| Full name | AOL Arena |
| Nickname | Volksparkstadion |
| Built | 1951-1953 As Volksparkstadion |
| Opened | July 12, 1953 |
| Capacity | 57.274 |
| Home of | Hamburger SV (Bundesliga) 2000-present Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europa) 2005-present |
| Pitch size | 105 m x 68 m |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup Stadiums |
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AOL Arena is the main stadium of Hamburg, Germany. It is the home ground of the Hamburger SV football team, the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europa, and was one of the 12 stadiums used in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which hosted four group games and a quarterfinal. The arena was known as the Volksparkstadion until 2001 when AOL Time Warner bought the naming rights.
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[edit] History
HSV actually have nothing to do with the origins of the stadium, even though they own the current arena. Before the club moved to the current site they played at Sportplatz at Rothenbaum. Bahrenfelder Stadion was the first stadium to built on the site of the Volksparkstadion and the AOL Arena. It was inaugurated on September 13th 1925 with a match between FC Altona 93 and HSV. In front a crowd of 25,000, HSV lost 2-3. At the time the stadium was also known as Altonaer Stadion, however it was not the home ground of FC Altona 93 (it was Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn). Altona was a large club of Germany that has long been surpassed by HSV.
After a long break the stadium was finally renovated. Between 1951 and 1953 the stadium was rebuilt. On July 12th the stadium was opened under its new name Volksparkstadion (Peoples Park Stadium). Most of the building materials came from the ruins of Eimsbüttel, a district of Hamburg destroyed under Allied bombing. The new stadium could hold up to 75,000 and continued to be used for the various sporting events of the city.
In 1963, when HSV qualified for the newly created Bundesliga, they moved into the Volksparkstadion, a stadium that was both larger and more modern then Rothenbaum. At this time FC Altona missed out and has struggled since. HSV begin to see some success in the Bundesliga and managed to maintain their status for years to come. HSV took titles in 1979, 1982, and 1983.
In May of 1998 HSV decided to replace the unpopular Volksparkstadion with a brand new stadium, not only to help Germany get ready to host the World Cup but also because it was getting harder and harder to meet the safety standards with such an old facility. The old stadium was totally demolished and the new arena was rotated 90° to provide an equal viewing experience for all the stands and to take advantage of sunlight. The estimated cost of the new stadium was anywhere from 90-100 million Euros. The new arena serves both as a football ground and a concert hall. The capacity of the stadium during club matches is 57.274, which is reduced to 51.500 during international matches when the standing sections in the north grandstand are converted into seated areas. The building permit for the new arena was issued on the 30 April 1998. The new stadium got rid of the track and field facilities that increased the distance between the pitch and the stands. The stadium was inaugurated in 2000 when Germany played Greece; the home team won 2-0. With the new stadium HSV has managed to attain an average attendance of 50,000. In 2004 a museum dedicated to the history of HSV was opened.
In 2001 AOL bought the naming rights to the Volksparkstadion for 30 million marks or 15.3 million euros. This contract, with HSV, runs out in 2006 but has a provision to be renewed. However, as in many cases when naming rights are sold to corporate giants, many locals still refer to the stadium by its former name.
[edit] Tournaments hosted
[edit] 1974 World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was held in West Germany and the Volksparkstadion was one of the stadiums used in the tournament. In combination with the Berlin Olympic Stadium the two stadiums held all of the Group A games of the first phase. Three of those were played at the Volksparkstadion. The first game played was the match between East Germany and Australia where attendance dipped to a low of only 17,000. The next game, with the home side West Germany playing Australia, saw a bounceback with 53,300 in attendance. The attendance grew even more for the next match to 60,200 as home side West Germany played neighboring East Germany. East Germany won the close game 1-0 with an 80th-minute goal.
[edit] Euro 88
In 1988 the European Football Championship came to West Germany. The Volksparkstadion was chosen to be one of the host stadiums. At the time the stadium could hold 61,200 spectators. The only game of the tournament that was played at the stadium was a semi-final that saw hosts West Germany go down to the Netherlands 1-2.
[edit] 2006 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to sponsorship contracts, the arena was known as FIFA World Cup Stadium Hamburg during the World Cup.
The following games were be played at the stadium during the World Cup of 2006:
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-06-10 | 21.00 | Argentina | 2-1 | Côte d'Ivoire | Group C | 49,480 |
| 2006-06-15 | 15.00 | Ecuador | 3-0 | Costa Rica | Group A | 50,000 |
| 2006-06-19 | 18.00 | Saudi Arabia | 0-4 | Ukraine | Group H | 50,000 |
| 2006-06-22 | 16.00 | Czech Republic | 0-2 | Italy | Group E | 50,000 |
| 2006-06-30 | 21.00 | Italy | 3-0 | Ukraine | Quarterfinals | 50,000 |
[edit] Trivia
- The record attendance was attained in Hamburg's victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach (2-0) on the 9th of April, 2006, where 56,750 people were counted.
- The pitch is heated via undersoil heaters.
- There are 22 positions for cameras to provide a variety of angles for TV viewers.
- The AOL Arena is one of UEFA's 5 star stadiums which enables it to host the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League Final.
[edit] External links
- Official team site
- Official site of the AOL Arena
- Stadium Guide
- Fan site HSV Forever
- Stadium info site Stades Mythiques (french)
| Bundesliga Venues (2006-07) |
| Allianz Arena | AOL Arena | AWD Arena | BayArena | Borussia Park Commerzbank Arena | EasyCredit Stadion | Gottlieb Daimler Stadion Olympiastadion Berlin | rewirpowerSTADION | Schüco Arena | Signal Iduna Park Stadion am Bruchweg | Stadion der Freundschaft | Tivoli | Veltins-Arena Volkswagen Arena | Weserstadion |
| Current Stadiums in NFL Europa |
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| Amsterdam ArenA | AOL Arena | Commerzbank-Arena | LTU Arena | Olympiastadion | RheinEnergieStadion | ||
