The opening of the Allianz Arena marks the end of an era
Three stadiums. Two teams. One soccer-obsessed city. Add the 2006 World Cup and a touch of scandal to the fray, and you’ve enough sporting intrigue to keep Munich kicking for a long time to come. Indeed, the atmosphere this month is at fever pitch—as the city prepares for the opening of the new Allianz Arena.
The modern structure, which opens on May 30, looks like a spaceship parked at the edge of the city and will soon become the home of Munich teams, TSV 1860 and FC Bayern. It has a capacity of 66,000 and a high-tech transparent roof that simultaneously protects the crowd from the elements and allows in enough light and air to keep the playing field in top condition.
With an eye to the 2006 World Cup, construction of a new stadium was agreed upon in 2001. And the big-budget project unfortunately hasn’t escaped scandal as it’s come into existence. Arena construction overseer, Karl-Heinz Wildmoser junior, was arrested last year on suspicion of corruption. He allegedly accepted € 2.8 million from Austrian construction firm Alpine-Mayreder Bau, which was subsequently awarded the lucrative building contract. As investigations continue, ballooning building costs haven’t done much to allay controversy either. Originally budgeted at € 280 million, the final construction tab will be € 340 million, a cool € 60 million more than had been anticipated. Despite it all, the Allianz Arena is scheduled to open at the end of May with a series of sold-out inaugural matches. The first will be on May 30, between TSV 1860 and 1.FC Nürnberg. On the following day, FC Bayern will play against the German national team. And, by popular demand, a match between the arena’s new cohabitants, TSV 1860 and FC Bayern, will be held on June 2.
The excitement surrounding the Allianz Arena, however, is for many Münchner bittersweet, as both TSV 1860 and FC Bayern will leave behind stadiums where soccer history has been made.
Perhaps most poignant will be TSV 1860’s farewell from the Grünwalder Stadium in Giesing, which has been home to the team for more than 90 years. TSV 1860—named after the year it was established and commonly referred to as die Sechz’ger—is Munich’s oldest sports club and a source of local pride. The Grünwalder Stadium dates back to 1911, when a wooden grandstand was constructed on a leased piece of real estate. In the mid-1920s it underwent major additions, which increased capacity to 40,000 fans and made it the largest in southern Germany. Today the stadium is not only among Germany’s oldest and most traditional, it is also the most frequently used, hosting more than 80 amateur, youth and professional matches each year.
On May 22, however, the stadium will host its last professional match, as TSV 1860 take leave of their legendary home. To mark the occasion, fans can order commemorative jerseys and a book about the stadium. Good luck finding a dry eye in this crowd.
For FC Bayern the move from the Olympic Stadium calls for reflection as well. Built for the 1972 Olympic Games, the stadium has been home to FC Bayern for more than 30 years and has witnessed some of the world’s soccer highlights, including Germany’s World Cup victory in 1974 and England’s 5-1 glory against Germany in 2001. The Olympic Stadium has also served as an international sports and concert venue and has hosted events ranging from the 2002 European Athletics Championships to performances by the Rolling Stones and the Three Tenors. But it’s not just events inside the stadium that have attracted global attention. The construction itself is architecturally unique, a fact that has no doubt supported FC Bayern in developing the team’s international reputation and appeal. So why the need for a new stadium? You wouldn’t be the only one to wonder. The issue was debated long and hard, with supporters of a new arena arguing that the layout of the existing one meant spectators were simply too far away from the action. Indeed, the concept of the Allianz Arena is centered on a no-barriers approach, with everything imaginable being done to give the public the best view possible—front-row seats, for example, are just two meters from the pitch.
The tale of two teams and three stadiums is indeed a local epic. And this month the story reaches an important turning point, as Munich, its teams, its fans and its stadiums begin a new era. <<<
MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON THE BALL: