BayArena Stadium

Lore & Background

The stadium was originally known as Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, named after a former chairman of Bayer AG, the club's founders. Its original capacity was 20,000. In 1986, a rebuilding project began to convert it into a modern facility; the project continued over the following decade and was completed in 1997, creating a modern all-seater stadium with a capacity of 22,500. The stadium was renamed BayArena in 1998. The former name was then used for the youth team stadium next to it. In 1999, a hotel attached to the stadium was completed, with some rooms having a view of the pitch. The stadium complex also includes a restaurant, which also overlooks the pitch, and conference facilities. The city of Leverkusen originally bid to become a venue for the 2006 World Cup, with an expanded Bay Arena as the site. However, the city, Bayer Leverkusen, and the German organizing committee soon agreed that expanding Bay Arena to the FIFA-mandated minimum 40,000 capacity for World Cup matches would not be practical, and the city withdrew its bid. Instead, it was agreed that Bay Arena would be the main training facility for the German national team during the 2006 finals. Jürgen Klinsmann, former national coach, however decided against Leverkusen and opted for Berlin as the main training facility. As compensation, BayArena would supposedly host two national matches, though they were never played. On 30 March 2007 Bayer AG agreed on the extension of the stadium to a capacity of over 30,000. Construction works began end of 2007 and were expected to be finished at the beginning of the 2009–10 season. On 30 September 2008, Bay Arena was selected as one of nine venues to be used during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup to house three group and one quarterfinal match.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the arena was thick with anticipation on a humid May evening, the red floodlights casting long shadows across the pristine grass. Thousands of voices rose in unison, chanting for the final ten minutes of a match that could define a generation. The players, wearing their iconic red and white kits, pushed forward with desperate energy, every tackle echoing off the stands. Yet, as the referee blew the final whistle, the silence that followed was heavier than any roar. It was not a defeat on paper, but a loss of destiny, leaving the BayArena to stand as a monument to what could have been.

Reader's Guide

The stadium design was based on the design of the then Ruhrstadium in Bochum. A steep single-tier football stadium without a running track with seating for 35,000 spectators. The stadium was intended to be constructed section by section over time, starting with the east stand in 1986, the west in 1989 and the north in 1991. The north section was redesignated as a 'Family Street', the first section of a German stadium aimed at attracting a younger audience. This concept proved to be a rousing success and demanded the moving of the Family Street to the larger east section for the 1996–97 season. In the process the BayArena was the first stadium in Germany to turn into an all-seater and to remove part of the fences which had separated the tiers from the pitch. Due to the demands for larger VIP areas, the original plans for closing the gap in the south with a stand the same layout as the north were dropped in 1995. Instead the south section was built as box suites, making the stadium unique in the Bundesliga with its South American style horseshoe design. With the work finished in 1997 the BayArena was judged as the most comfortable and modern stadium in Germany. The expansion and renovation of 2007–2009 added a second tier over the east, north and west sections, new VIP suites between the two tiers, a new oval roof covering all seats as well as the complete rebuild of the club's main facilities in the west section. It also saw the reintroduction of pure standing areas for the home supporters in the corner north/east. After summer 2013, the pure standing area was stretched over the complete first rows of the north section of the stadium.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally named Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, after a former chairman of Bayer AG.
• The stadium's south section was built as box suites, giving it a unique South American style horseshoe design in the Bundesliga.