Champions League Final 2012
Munich's Fußball Arena München To Host Europe's Soccer Highlight
Jan 30, 2009
The best of Europe have their sights set on Munich's Fußball Arena München where the winner of the 2011-12 Champions League will be crowned.
Fußball Arena München Opened In 2005
The Fußball Arena München - known more commonly as the Allianz Arena - took three years to build at a cost of 340 million euros. It was completed in April 2005 just north of the Bavarian capital as the new home for the Munich clubs Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. The opening game was won by 1860, who beat Nürnberg 3-2 on 30 May 2005. The following day, Bayern beat the German national team 4-2.
Capacity 66,000 For UEFA Matches, 69,900 For Bundesliga
The arena holds 66,000 spectators for UEFA club matches while domestic Bundesliga and cup games can draw up to 69,900 fans.
Colorful Highlight
The Fußball Arena München can claim to be one of the most recognizable stadiums in all of Europe. Its exterior features curved panels which light up in either red (for Bayern games), blue (1860) or white (German national team), depending on which team is playing at home.
Munich Awarded Fourth Final
UEFA awarded the 2012 Champions League final to Munich on January 30, 2009. It will be the first final to take place in the Fußball Arena München. But the southern German metropolis has hosted three previous European Champions Clubs' Cup finals. In 1979 Nottingham Forest FC beat Malmö FF 1-0 to win the European Champions Cup. Olympique de Marseille knocked off AC Milan 1-0 in the 1993 Champions Cup final. And German side Borussia Dortmund ran past Juventus Turin 3-1 to capture the 1997 Champions League crown.
World Cup 2006 Opening Match
The arena was a big part of the tremendously successful 2006 World Cup, hosting six matches. Tournament hosts Germany won the opening game of the competition in Munich, 4-2 against Costa Rica. The three other first round games saw Tunisia and Saudi Arabia draw 2-2 in Group H; Brazil beat Australia 2-0 in Group F; and Ivory Coast knock off Serbia & Montenegro 3-2 in Group C.
2006 Round Of 16 And Semi-Final
The arena hosted another Germany match in the Round of 16 as Jürgen Klinsmann's team beat Sweden 2-0. And the sixth match for Munich in the tournament saw France get by Portugal 1-0 in the semi-final.
Naming Rights
The large financial services provider, Allianz purchased the rights to name the stadium for 30 years. Since FIFA did not allow for commercialization of the stadiums during the 2006 World Cup, the name was changed to FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich.
Arena Extras
The Allianz Arena's partial roof covers all seats, though winds can still blow rain onto some of them. The facility offers three day-care centers, two fan shops, the FC Bayern München Megastore and the TSV 1860 München Allianz Arena Megastore. There are 2,000 business seats, 400 seats for the press, 106 luxury boxes with seating for up to 174 and 165 spots for wheel chairs and the like. There are also 550 toilets and 190 monitors in the arena. To light Allianz Arena up for one hour costs about 50 Euros.
Huge Parking Garage
Adjacent to the arena is Europe's largest parking structure. There are 9,800 parking places in four four-story parking garages. For those coming to the arena by public transportation, the stadium is located next to the Fröttmaning U-Bahn station - a stop on the U6 line of the Munich U-Bahn system.
