Former names | Adolf-Hitler-Kampfbahn (1933–1945) Century Stadium (1945–1949) Neckarstadion (1949–1993) Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion (1993–2008) |
---|---|
Location | Stuttgart, Germany |
Owner | Stadion NeckarPark GmbH & Co.KG |
Operator | VfB Stuttgart Arena Betriebs GmbH |
Capacity | 60,469 (League Matches), 54,906 (International Matches) |
Record attendance | 97,553 (Germany-Switzerland, 22 November 1950) |
Surface | natural grass |
Construction | |
Built | 1933 |
Opened | 23 July 1933 |
Renovated | 1949–1951, 1999–2003, 2004–2005 ('asp' architekten Stuttgart) |
Expanded | 1993, 2009–2011 ('asp' architekten Stuttgart) |
Construction cost |
€63.5 million (2009-11 renovated) €58 million (2006 renovated) €5.2 million (2001) |
Architect |
'asp' architekten Stuttgart (2006, 2009-11) |
Project manager | Stefan Heim, Martin Rau |
Tenants | |
VfB Stuttgart (1933–present) 1959 European Cup Final 1974 FIFA World Cup 1986 European Athletics Championships 1988 European Cup Final UEFA Euro 1988 1993 World Championships in Athletics 2006 FIFA World Cup |
The Mercedes-Benz Arena (German pronunciation: [mɛʁˌtseːdəsˈbɛnts ʔaˌʁeːnaː]) is a stadium located in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and home to German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.
Before 1993 it was called Neckarstadion [ˈnɛkaɐ̯ˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn], named after the nearby river Neckar and between 1993 and July 2008 it was called Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion [ˌɡɔtliːpˈdaɪmlɐˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn]. From the 2008–09 season, the stadium was renamed the Mercedes-Benz Arena, starting with a pre-season friendly against Arsenal on 30 July 2008.
The stadium was originally built in 1933 after designs by German architect Paul Bonatz. After It was built, it was named "Adolf-Hitler-Kampfbahn". From 1945 to 1949 it was called Century Stadium and later Kampfbahn and was used by US Troops to play baseball.The name Neckarstadion was used since 1949. It is home to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga (and to the Stuttgarter Kickers when they played in the Bundesliga ).
After a major refurbishment in the late 1980s and early 1990s partly financed by Daimler-Benz, the Stuttgart town council dedicated the stadium to Gottlieb Daimler. The inventor had tested both the first internal combustion motorcycle and the first 4-wheel automobile there in the 1880s, on the road from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim (now called Mercedesstraße). The new museum, the headquarters and a factory of Mercedes-Benz are nearby.