Allianz arena, Munich

Fröttmaning U Bahn station.

Allianz Arena, the famous football stadium in Munich, is connected to the city by U6 Bahn which runs from Garching to Marienplatz. The stadium is famous for being FC Bayern’s home ground with a 75,024 seating capacity.Though it is the third largest arena of Germany, it is quite famous for being the  first stadium in the world with a full colour changing exterior. The  inflated ETFE plastic panels outside the stadium offers an unique architectural & photographic view both from near and far.

Windmill @Fröttmaning hill

I noticed this arena while travelling from Garching to the city by U6.U bahn or the urban railway system of Munich is an efficient public transport for the office or school-goers of Munich. I used to drop K in Garching and travel around the city. So I noticed this magnificent structure from the train and decided to get down one day. You have to get down at the Fröttmaning U-Bahn station. And you have to walk 5 to 7 minutes to reach the arena.An esplanade rises gradually from ground level at the subway station entrance, practically building the parking garage’s cover, to the entrance level of the stadium. On the other side of the Autobahn, the Fröttmaning Hill with its windmill offers a great view (I love windmills, do not know why!!!). 

While walking to the arena, there are many urban structures and Autobahn A9 which gradually destroyed the village of Fröttmaning. The field offers a great view to the arena and you can click lots of selfies with the stadium. The Swiss architect firm Herzog & de Meuron has developed the concept of it.The arena facade is constructed of 2,874 ETFE-foil air panels that are kept inflated with dry air to a differential pressure of 3.5 Pa. So,the stadium has been nicknamed as ‘inflatable boat’. The panels appear white from far away but when examined closely, there are little dots on the panels. When viewed from far away, the eye combines the dots and sees white. You can visit the inside stadium in a tour which costs 10 euro.

Inside view: Image source Google

 

Each panel can be independently lit with white, red, or blue light. The panels are lit for each game with the colours of the respective home team—red for Bayern Munich, blue for TSV and white for the German national football team. White is also used when the stadium is a neutral venue, like the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. Funny thing is that, Allianz has bought the name right for 30 years, but during big games you cannot use the name of Allianz. During the 2006 World Cup, the stadium was referred to as FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich. It was called Fußball Arena München in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final.

The museum of Bayern Munich, FC Bayern Erlebniswelt, is located inside the Arena. Multicolour or interchanging lighting schemes can be done here, but Munich Police strongly insists on uni-colour only due to several car accidents on the nearby A9 Autobahn with drivers being distracted by the changing lights. So I get to see the color of FC bayern i.e. red color. If you see the other ones, post some photos 🙂

Arena at night

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