Whether you are a FC Bayern Munich fan or not, whether you are a football fan or not, the Allianz Arena is one of those stadiums that you have to visit.
The stadium is located in the north of Munich, near the motorway. A ticket to visit the stadium and the team museum costs 25 euros. The ticket price also includes a guide, practically the only way to visit the stadium is with a guide, at a fixed time. The guide will take you to the most important places in the stadium and will give you quite interesting information about the construction, design, as well as the reasons why a room, a wall or anything else was built in this way.
The entire stadium tour takes about 30-45 minutes. The stadium is open to the public every day between 10:00 and 18:00, except for holidays – Christmas, New Year, etc. – and match days.
I was pleasantly impressed by this stadium, being perhaps the most well thought out and planned construction of its kind.
Some interesting facts about the Allianz Arena Munich
- The stadium was opened on May 30, 2005, hosting matches between two teams: FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich. Until then, the two teams played at the old stadium, the Olympiastadion.
- The entire construction cost around 340 million euros.
- The facade of the arena consists of a special plastic coating with a thickness of 0.2 mm, resistant to fire or very high temperatures, radiation, rain, etc. Although it appears white, the foil is transparent with white dots.
- Each foil panel can be illuminated in the colors of the team playing at that time. Red for Bayern, blue for TSV 1860 and white for the national team. Moreover, the exterior of the stadium can light up in 60,000 different shades, but due to the fact that the stadium is located next to the highway, the authorities recommend lighting it in a single color, thus avoiding possible accidents.
- Lighting the stadium costs around 50 euros per hour.
- The company that designed the entire construction is a Swiss one: Herzog & de Meutron Architekten Basel.
- Solar panels are installed to provide light like that provided by the sun to care for the lawn.
- The stadium is equipped with screens for the match played live. Such a screen is 200 square meters.
- The stadium has also hosted concerts over time.
- The 75,000 seats include: 2000 seats for sponsors, partners, etc., 400 seats for the press, 106 boxes and 165 seats for people immobilized in wheelchairs.
- For people with mobility disabilities, the price for matches is 5 euros, money that is further donated to various centers.
- The stadium also has a restaurant right at the entrance intended for both visitors and those waiting to go to the match.
- The road to the conference room is painted entirely in orange. The reason why the hall is painted orange is because this color encourages communication, since not all journalists speak German.
- The table in the conference room is made of the same material as the one outside the stadium
- The locker rooms of the home and away teams by comparison.
- The road from the locker rooms to the entrance to the field was inspired by the arenas where gladiators fought. Thus, the players go down a few steps, then climb a few dozen more and reach the field, this gives them momentum and courage.
- On the walls of the same hall are displayed images of the team's victorious moments with the aim of intimidating opponents.
- The name Allianz Arena comes from the insurance company Allianz, one of the team's main sponsors for a period of 30 years.
- The museum hosted by the stadium is the most interactive and modern museum dedicated to a football team that I have seen so far.
The Allianz Arena is by far an architectural masterpiece in terms of design and materials. Compared to other large stadiums we have visited so far, this one is the best organized, both in terms of the construction itself and the program for visitors. So, if you are in the area, do not hesitate to visit this stadium.