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 Interactive map of Volksparkstadion | |
| Former names | AOL Arena (2001–2007) HSH Nordbank Arena (2007–2010) Imtech Arena (2010–2015) |
|---|---|
| Location | Sylvesterallee 7,Bahrenfeld 22525Hamburg, Germany |
| Coordinates | 53°35′14″N9°53′55″E / 53.58722°N 9.89861°E /53.58722; 9.89861 |
| Public transit |   Stellingen |
| Capacity | 57,000 (league matches) 51,500 (international matches) |
| Field size | 105 × 68 m |
| Surface | grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1951–1953 |
| Opened | 12 July 1953 (1953-07-12) |
| Renovated | 1998, 2022–present |
| Construction cost | € 90–100 million (1998 renovation) |
| Tenants | |
| Hamburger SV (1953–present) Shakhtar Donetsk (2023–2024) Dynamo Kyiv (2024–2025) Germany national football team (selected matches) | |
| Website | |
| hsv.de/en/volksparkstadion | |
Volksparkstadion (German pronunciation:[ˈfɔlkspaʁkˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn]ⓘ) is afootball stadium inHamburg, Germany, with a capacity of 57,000, which makes it the eighth largeststadium in Germany. It has served as the home ground ofBundesliga sideHamburger SV since 1953.
The Volksparkstadion has additionally served as the home ground forFC Shakhtar Donetsk in continental competition during theRussian invasion of Ukraine, and as a stadium for theGermany national football team. Recently, it has served as a host stadium for both the2006 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2024.
HSV were not involved with the origins of the stadium, even though they own the current arena. Before the club moved to the current site they played atSportplatz at Rothenbaum. Bahrenfelder Stadion was the first stadium to be built on the site of the Volksparkstadion and the AOL Arena. It was inaugurated on 13 September 1925 with a match between FC Altona 93 and HSV. In front a crowd of 25,000, HSV lost 2–3. At the time the stadium was also known as Altonaer Stadion, however it was not the home ground ofFC Altona 93 (it was Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn). Altona was a large club of Germany[vague] that has long been surpassed by HSV.
After a long break the stadium was finally renovated. Between 1951 and 1953 the stadium was rebuilt. On 12 July the stadium was opened as Volksparkstadion (The People's Park Stadium), named after its location atAltona Volkspark (People's Park). Most of the building materials came from the ruins ofEimsbüttel, a district of Hamburg destroyed underAllied bombing. The new stadium could hold up to 75,000 and continued to be used for the various sporting events of the city.
In 1963, when HSV qualified for the newly createdBundesliga, they moved into the Volksparkstadion, a stadium that was both larger and more modern thanRothenbaum. At this time, FC Altona missed the opportunity, and has struggled ever since. HSV then began to see some success[vague] in the Bundesliga, and managed to[tone] maintain their status for years to come. HSV won titles in 1979, 1982 and 1983.
In May 1996, HSV decided to replace the unpopular[according to whom?] Volksparkstadion with a brand new stadium, not only to help Germany get ready to host the Football World Cup, but also because it was getting increasingly more[tone] difficult to meet the safety standards with such an old facility.[according to whom?] The old stadium was demolished, and the new arena was rotated 90° to provide an equal viewing experience for all the stands and to take advantage of sunlight. The estimated cost of the new stadium was€90-100 million. The new arena serves both as a football ground and a concert hall. The capacity of the stadium during club matches is 57,000, which is reduced to 51,500 during international matches when thestanding sections in the north grandstand are converted into seated areas. The record attendance was attained inHamburger SV's victory overBayern Munich (1–0) on 30 January 2009, when 57,000 paying spectators were counted.
The building permit for the new arena was issued on 30 April 1998. The new stadium removed thetrack and field facilities that increased the distance between the pitch and the stands. The stadium was inaugurated on 2 September 2000 whenGermany playedGreece; the home team won 2–0. With the new stadium, HSV has managed to[tone] attain an average attendance of 50,000.[when?] In 2004, a museum dedicated to the history of HSV was opened.
The stadium is aUEFA category 4 stadium, the highest level of stadium under UEFA regulations, which makes it eligible to hostUEFA Europa League andUEFA Champions League finals.
A large clock was added to the northwest corner in 2001 to commemorate HSV's status as the only club to have played continuously in the Bundesliga since its foundation. The clock marked the time, down to the second, since the league was founded on 24 August 1963.[1] However, after Hamburg's relegation to the 2nd tier, it was updated to reflect HSV's foundation. After the 2018–19 season though, the clock was ultimately taken down, replaced with the coordinates of the Volksparkstadion.[2]
In 2001,AOL bought the naming rights to the Volksparkstadion for€15.3 million, retitling the ground as the AOL Arena. In March 2007, theHSH Nordbank bought the naming rights for €25 million, and the stadium was rebranded as the "HSH Nordbank Arena" in a six-year deal. From July 2010, the arena was called the Imtech Arena, afterImtech bought the naming rights. AfterImtech's sponsorship ended in June 2015, the stadium reverted to its original name of Volksparkstadion.[3] Due toUEFA regulations, when the stadium had a sponsored name, it was referred to as theHamburg Arena[ˈhambʊʁkʔaˌʁeːnaː] for European matches.
In the2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the Volksparkstadion served as the home stadium for Ukrainian clubShakhtar Donetsk, who are unable to play at their normal home stadium due to theRusso–Ukrainian War.[4]
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The1974 FIFA World Cup was held in West Germany and the Volksparkstadion was one of the stadiums used in the tournament.[5] In combination with the1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium, the two stadiums held all of the Group A games of the first phase. The three games not involvingChile were played at the Volksparkstadion. The first game played was the match betweenEast Germany andAustralia (East Germany won 2–1) where attendance dipped to a low of only 17,000. The next game, with the home sideWest Germany playing Australia, saw a bounceback with 53,300 in attendance (West Germany won 3–0). The attendance grew even more for the next match to 60,200 as home side West Germany played neighbouringEast Germany. East Germany won the close game 1–0 with an 77th-minute goal.
The following games were played at the stadium during the World Cup of 1974:
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 June 1974 | 19:30 |  East Germany | 2–0 |  Australia | Group 1 | 17,000 |
| 18 June 1974 | 16:00 | Australia | 0–3 |  West Germany | 53,000 | |
| 22 June 1974 | 19:30 | East Germany | 1–0 | West Germany | 60,200 |
In 1988 theEuropean Football Championship came to West Germany. The Volksparkstadion was chosen to be one of the host stadia. At the time the stadium could hold 61,200 spectators. The only game of the tournament that was played at the stadium was a semi-final that saw hostsWest Germany lose to theNetherlands 1–2.
The stadium was one of the venues for the2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to sponsorship contracts, the arena was known asFIFA World Cup Stadium Hamburg during the World Cup.
The following games were played at the stadium during the World Cup of 2006:
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2006 | 21:00 |  Argentina | 2–1 |  Ivory Coast | Group C | 49,480 |
| 15 June 2006 | 15:00 |  Ecuador | 3–0 |  Costa Rica | Group A | 50,000 |
| 19 June 2006 | 18:00 |  Saudi Arabia | 0–4 |  Ukraine | Group H | 50,000 |
| 22 June 2006 | 16:00 |  Czech Republic | 0–2 |  Italy | Group E | 50,000 |
| 30 June 2006 | 21:00 | Italy | 3–0 | Ukraine | Quarterfinals | 50,000 |
The stadium hosted the2010 UEFA Europa League final, in whichSpanish sideAtlético Madrid beatEnglish clubFulham 2–1.[6]
Volksparkstadion hosted fiveUEFA Euro 2024 matches, including four group stage matches and a quarter-finals match.
| Date | Time (CEST) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 2024 | 15:00 |  Poland | 1–2 |  Netherlands | 48,117 | |
| 19 June 2024 | 15:00 |  Croatia | 2–2 |  Albania | 46,784 | |
| 22 June 2024 | 15:00 |  Georgia | 1–1 | Czech Republic | 46,524 | |
| 26 June 2024 | 21:00 | Czech Republic | 1–2 |  Turkey | 47,683 | |
| 5 July 2024 | 21:00 |  Portugal | 0–0 (3–5pen.) |  France | 47,789 |
The stadium's nearestrailway station isStellingen railway station. The station is on the S3 and S5 lines of theHamburg S-Bahn and is also served fromSchleswig-Holstein in the north byAKN railways. A free bus shuttle service is provided during football matches or other major events from Stellingen railway station and fromOthmarschen railway station to the stadium.[7] There are several largecar parks around the stadium. TheA7 runs close by and the stadium can be reached via the exit Hamburg-Volkspark.
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The stadium hosted theheavyweightunificationboxingmatch betweenWladimir Klitschko andDavid Haye on 2 July 2011. Klitschko won byunanimous decision. The stadium sold out.
The stadium hosted theGerman leg of the worldwide concert eventLive Earth on 7 July 2007. Among the artists performing in Hamburg wereSnoop Dogg,Eminem andCat Stevens/Yusuf Islam. Other musical performances at the Volksparkstadion include those of:Michael Jackson, in 1988 as part of hisBad World Tour and 1992 as part of hisDangerous World Tour;Tina Turner in 1996 during her "Wildest Dreams Tour" and in 2000 during her "Twenty Four Seven Tour";Depeche Mode in 2009 during theirTour of the Universe and in 2013 during theirDelta Machine Tour;Metallica in 2014 as a part of theirBy Request Tour and again in 2023 as a part of theirM72 World Tour;AC/DC in 2016 for theirRock or Bust World Tour;Coldplay in 2016 for theirA Head Full of Dreams Tour;Rihanna in 2016 for herAnti World Tour;P!nk in 2019 for herBeautiful Trauma World Tour, andHarry Styles in 2022 for hisLove On Tour.Beyoncé in 2023 for herRenaissance World Tour, followed byThe Weeknd as part of hisAfter Hours til Dawn Tour performed at the stadium on 2 July 2023.Taylor Swift performed at the stadium on 23 and 24 July 2024 as part of herThe Eras Tour.Linkin Park will perform two shows on 1 and 3 July 2026 as part of theirFrom Zero World Tour.
| Preceded by | UEFA Europa League Final venue 2010 | Succeeded by |
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