ÖVB Arena

ÖVB Arena
Former names Stadthalle Bremen (1964–2004)
AWD-Dome (2005–09)
Bremen-Arena (2009–11)
Location Bürgerweide
28215 Bremen
Germany
Coordinates 53°05′15″N 8°48′55″E / 53.08750°N 8.81528°E / 53.08750; 8.81528Coordinates: 53°05′15″N 8°48′55″E / 53.08750°N 8.81528°E / 53.08750; 8.81528
Capacity 14,500[1]
3,500 (1964–2005)
Construction
Broke ground 1961
Opened 1964
Renovated 2004–05
Construction cost DM 28 million (1964)
€ 50 million (2004)
(2004 renovations)
Architect 1961 (Roland Rainer)
2004 (Thomas Klumpp)

ÖVB Arena (originally Stadthalle Bremen, formerly Bremen-Arena and AWD-Dome) is the largest indoor arena in Bremen, Germany. It is used for concerts, sports and trade fairs.

History

The arena was designed and built by the Austrian architect Roland Rainer in the years 1961 to 1964.

It used to be called Stadthalle Bremen until the financial services provider Allgemeiner Wirtschaftsdienst (AWD) bought the naming rights in January 2005. Contrary to what the new name suggests, the AWD-Dome is in fact not a dome. The name "Dome" was probably chosen because an AWD-Arena already exists in Hannover. At the same time € 50 million were invested into the venue to modernize and expand it from 3,500 to 14,500 seats. The architect Thomas Klumpp led these renovations. When AWD withdrew its sponsorship at the end of 2009, the venue was renamed to Bremen-Arena,[2] effective 1 January 2010. On 11 September 2011, the arena became known as the ÖVB Arena.

Events

On 12 March 1999, American rock band KISS played the venue on their Psycho Circus Tour. The local fire marshal banned the use of any pyrotechnics. But at the end of the show, KISS blew up a concert worth of pyro all at once. After that incident, KISS were banned from playing Bremen in the future.

The AWD-Dome had been used in the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship.

Depeche Mode performed at the stadium two times: the first one was on November 1, 2009 during their Tour of the Universe. The second one was on December 3, 2013 during their Delta Machine Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 11,949 people.

References

  1. ↑ World Group, 2008 Quarterfinal Davis Cup Germany vs Spain April 2008
  2. ↑ "AWD-Dome wird zur "Bremen-Arena" (German). weser-kurier.de, 16 December 2009.
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