Description
The Allianz Arena is one of the main attractions of Munich, as well as the home stadium of the famous football team Bayern. The stadium has a capacity of 75,000 spectators, including 2,152 business seats, 1,374 seats in VIP boxes and 227 seats for wheelchair users.
However, few people know that the Allianz Arena was not built by decision of the Bavarian club, but according to a referendum held on October 21, 2001. More than two thirds of those polled spoke in favor of building a new stadium, which would belong to Bayern and 1860 Munich. In addition, the arena had to comply with all FIFA rules and could host official matches of the World and European Championships. In order to choose the most interesting plan for the future construction, a competition was held among leading architectural firms. The Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron Architekten won the competition. They developed a plan for a stadium similar to the St. Jakob Park in Basel – a stadium with a transparent shell made of ethylfluorethylene film. This film, which formed numerous cushions, could not only be illuminated from the inside, which became one of the main «chips» of the Allianz Arena, but also did not require cleaning. Construction of the arena began in the fall of 2002, the foundation was laid on October 21. At the end of April 2005, construction work was completed.
Currently, the Allianz Arena is not just a stadium, but a huge complex, which even includes a kindergarten and a «world» of the popular LEGO constructor. In addition, on the huge area of the arena of 800 square meters there is a store where every fan of the football club Bayern can buy its symbols and souvenirs.