It’s official! The home of the Bundesliga will host UEFA Euro 2024. bundesliga.com takes you on a tour of the 10 stunning venues that will – in six years’ time – provide the stage on which Europe’s best footballers will attempt to claim the continental crown.
Club: Hertha Berlin
Capacity: 74,475
Watch: Get a taste of the history in the Olympiastadion for yourself
One of Europe’s most iconic venues, steeped in history dating from when it was the stage for the 1936 Olympic Games. Usain Bolt’s 100m and 200m world record runs at the 2009 world championships are perhaps the most memorable events around the stadium’s blue track, the colour chosen at Hertha’s demand as part of a careful renovation between 2000 and 2004.
On the pitch, Zinedine Zidane’s playing career ended here with his headbutt during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, while it has also seen a host of teams celebrate DFB Cup final success. Barcelona lifted their fifth UEFA Champions League at Juventus’ expense in the German capital in 2015, while U2, the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Ed Sheeran and Jay-Z and Beyonce have all played here too.
Check out our Berlin city guide!
RheinEnergieStadion
Club: Cologne
Capacity: 50,000 (Bundesliga games), 46,195 (UEFA/FIFA games)
Until the Olympiastadion was built, the Sportpark Müngersdorf – as Cologne’s stadium was previously known – was Germany’s biggest venue. A 30-month overhaul was completed in January 2004 in preparation for the following year’s FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 World Cup. Instantly recognisable thanks to the four illuminated pillars on each corner that – since the installation of LEDs in October 2016 – can be lit up in the colours of club and country. Coldplay and Rihanna are among the global artists to have staged concerts in the home of Hennes VIII.
Click here for guides to all 18 Bundesliga clubs!
Club: Bayern Munich
Capacity: 75,000 (Bundesliga games), 70,000 (UEFA/FIFA games)
Watch: The Allianz Arena, a jewel in the Bundesliga’s crown
In a country known for the architectural and design quality of its football stadia, the home of the Bundesliga’s record champions still stands out. The 2760 ‘pillows’ that give Bayern’s stadium its unique appearance are filled with over 300,000 LEDs that allow it to be lit up in any colour while the spectacular light show can be seen up to 46 miles away. The standing areas in the Südkurve can easily be filled by seating for European and international games, while you don’t have to worry about finding a parking place: the stadium’s in-built lot boasts 9,800 places, a record for a European football venue.
Check out our Munich city guide!
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Capacity: 51,500 (Bundesliga games), 48,000 (UEFA/FIFA games)
The Eagles’ current nest is actually the fourth on the same site since the Waldstadion first opened its doors in May 1925. After hosting matches at the 1974 World Cup and EURO ’88, the 2006 World Cup was – as in so many other cities – the catalyst for Germany’s financial capital to spruce up its stadium, and a three-year facelift was undertaken between 2002 and 2005. The running track, which had meant some fans were more than 100 yards from the pitch, was removed, bringing the crowd much closer to the action.
Check out our Frankfurt city guide!
Volksparkstadion
Club: Hamburg
Capacity: 57,000 (Bundesliga games), 51,500 (UEFA/FIFA games)
The transformation of Hamburg’s premier stadium from an all-purpose venue into a football-only arena started in 1998. The radical overhaul even involved turning the pitch 90°, taking the HSV fanatics from the Westkurve into the Nordtribüne, the North Stand. One of most-modern stadiums in Germany upon completion in 2000, the stadium added 2006 World Cup matches to its long list of highlights and only just missed out on hosting their own team in the 2010 UEFA Europa League final – HSV were knocked out by eventual runners-up Fulham in the semi-finals.
Click here for guides to all 18 Bundesliga clubs!
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Capacity: 81,365 (Bundesliga games), 66,069 (UEFA/FIFA games)
Watch: If you want pure football passion, you’ve come to the right place
Once you have seen the ‘Yellow Wall’ for yourself, you don’t forget it. Over 100 yards wide and more than 40 yards high, the Südtribune of Dortmund’s home is a formidable sight for opponents, and an inspiration for the hosts. With 24,454 standing places, it is the biggest standing area in Europe, and with an average of more than 80,000 fans per game, no club in the world can boast a better following than the Bundesliga’s Yellow-Blacks.
The stadium was opened with a friendly against Ruhr arch-rivals Schalke on 2 April, 1974, but curiously, the first competitive match did not feature Dortmund. Schalke were involved again, but Bochum were their hosts as they were squatting at the Signal Iduna Park while their own stadium was being built.
Check out our Dortmund city guide!
Club: RB Leipzig
Capacity: 43,500
The predecessor of the Red Bull Arena, the Zentralstadion holds a special place in German football as the venue for both the record crowd for a competitive match and an international game on German soil. On 9 September, 1956, 100,000 crammed in to see the derby between SC Rotation Leipzig and SC Lokomotive Leipzig. Add 10,000 to that number, and you get the mammoth crowd for East Germany’s 4-1 loss to Czechoslovakia in October, 1957. RB Leipzig earned their own slice of history as they welcomed a stunning 30,104 fans for their fourth division match with Sportfreunde Lotte, a record at that level of German football.
Click here for our Leipzig city guide!
Club: Schalke
Capacity: 62,271 (Bundesliga games), 54,740 (UEFA/FIFA games)
The passion of Schalke’s fans is hard to match worldwide, and the Royal Blues’ majestic home is almost without parallel too. The jumbotron that hovers over their pitch – boasting four screens measuring 3,300 square feet each – is Europe’s biggest, and is more than double the size of its predecessor. The closing roof and ability to wheel the pitch in and out of the venue are other technological wonders, but the club has not forgotten tradition too. Nestled in the heart of the industrial Ruhr Valley, Schalke have fashioned the players’ tunnel so that it looks like a coal seam.
Check out our Gelsenkirchen city guide!
Club: Stuttgart
Capacity: 60,449 (Bundesliga games), 54,812 (UEFA/FIFA games)
There is little of the original stadium, opened in 1933, which now remains after no fewer than seven separate phases of renovation. Stuttgart was the stage for no fewer than six World Cup games in 2006, including Germany’s third-place play-off with Portugal. Once also a sacred home of athletics, the stadium became a purely football arena after the last major facelift between 2009 and 2011 during which the pitch was lowered by over four feet.
Check out our Stuttgart city guide!
Club: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Capacity: 54,600 (Bundesliga games), 51,500 (UEFA/FIFA games)
Freshly christened the Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf’s jewel is much more than a football stadium. Built on the site of the former Rheinstadion between 2002 and 2004, the complex hosts exhibitions with the retractable roof and stadium heating ensuring Fortuna aren’t the only ones who are cosy in their home. Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna have all performed at the arena, while it also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011.
Check out our Dusseldorf city guide!
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