Volkswagen Arena

Volkswagen Arena
Full name	Volkswagen Arena
Former names	FIFA Women's World Cup Stadium, Wolfsburg (2011 FIFA Women's World Cup)
Location	Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
Built	2002
Opened	13 December 2002
Owner	Wolfsburg AG
Construction cost	€ 53 million
Capacity	30,000 (League Matches), 26,000 (International Matches)
Tenants
VfL Wolfsburg

Volkswagen Arena (German pronunciation: [ˈfɔlksvaːɡən ʔaˈʁeːna]) is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and serves as the home stadium of the 2008–09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena replaced the former stadium of VfL Wolfsburg, the VFL Stadion.

History

The Volkswagen Arena was finished in 2002. Before completion, VfL Wolfsburg played their home games at the 20,500 capacity VFL Stadion, where the amateur squad still plays.^[1] Currently the stadium is used mostly for the home games of VfL Wolfsburg, and is the site where they won their first Bundesliga title in the 2008–09 season.

Uses

The stadium is mainly used to host Wolfsburg's home matches in all competitions. The stadium hosted Wolfsburg's first ever game in the Champions League along with their first win in the UEFA Champions League when Brazilian striker Grafite scored a hat-trick against CSKA Moscow, beating them 3–1, on 15 September 2009. The Volkswagen Arena was also used as one of the host stadiums for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup which was held in Germany.^[2][3] The stadium has also been used for concerts and musical acts such as Elton John and Anastacia.^[4]

Capacity

Wolfsburg's old VFL Stadion seated around 20,500 spectators. The new stadium was completed in time for the second half of the 2002–03 Bundesliga campaign. It has a capacity of 30,000 with about 8,000 being standing only and the other 22,000 of these being seated.^[5] The stadium also offers amenities such as a restaurant called the Soccer-Café.

Panoramic view of the stadium.

References

Coordinates: 52°25′55″N 10°48′14″E / 52.43194°N 10.80389°E / 52.43194; 10.80389