MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA’s out-of-‘the-box’ project

Article posted by Coliseum, February 5^th, 2021

Image: Merkur Spiel-Arena

The City of Düsseldorf in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the supervisory body of D. LIVE firm have come up with an out of the box expansion solution for one of Germany’s largest multifunctional football stadia – the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA located at Düsseldorf.

The MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA is a multifunctional football stadium in Düsseldorf, Germany. The stadium holds 54,600 fans and has a retractable roof. Its special heating system allows the stadium to host comfortable events at the height of winter. The soccer stadium is not only the home of Fortuna Düsseldorf football club, but also hosts a range of large- and medium-scale events – shows, concerts, football, and corporate conferences.

Fortuna Düsseldorf is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league in 1913 and was a fixture in the top flight from the early 1920s up to the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963.

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merkur-spiel-arena.de reported that the major project termed ‘The Box’ – an approximately 1,000 square meter extension which will also form the new entrance, was approved recently by D. LIVE, one of the largest event companies in Europe and MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA shareholder Düsseldorf City.

‘The Box’ to be built on the West side of the iconic arena is scheduled to be completed ahead of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2024 extravaganza.

The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 or simply Euro 2024, will be the 17^th edition of the UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Europe organized by UEFA. Germany will be the host country.

merkur-spiel-arena.de quoted Michael Brill, Managing Director, D.LIVE, as commenting, “With ‘The Box’ the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA is getting an attractive and multifunctional new part of the building. With an eye on UEFA EURO 2024, we are creating a modern press area that meets all UEFA requirements. By investing in this multifunctional and versatile extension, the existing space concept of the arena is optimally complemented. Thus, it is not an investment in a one-time infrastructure, but an extension for a long-term benefit of the event operations in the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA.”

Although groundbreaking is expected to start in the beginning of 2022 and funding has already been allocated pending a nod from the Council for the budget 2021 ff, a lot of formalities remain to be completed before construction can actually begin on the ambitious development.

merkur-spiel-arena.de stated that offers are to be obtained from specialist planners and the orders for the design and implementation planning are to be awarded. But the most important aspect to be taken into consideration during this exercise is the determination of resource-saving technical and structural measures.

The professional football club Fortuna Düsseldorf is involved in the planning process of the mega project and will examine further proposals.

Looking forward to the implementation of the majestic project, Christian Koke, Marketing Director at Fortuna Düsseldorf, remarked, “We were involved in the construction project at an early stage and were able to contribute our ideas for expanding the VIP areas. A thematic development of new hospitality concepts is also our approach in the context of self-marketing. The multifunctional approach was also in the foreground, so that the new building can be used for both the D.LIVE event areas and for our home games.”

‘The Box’ features:

1,000 m^² of total area, maximum 700 m^² event area, and a ceiling height of about 5 meters;
‘The Box’ will be the new entrance area with access to the business and VIP space of the arena;
The facility will be used as a modern press center;
‘The Box’ will expand the existing VIP areas of the venue and this will be used in particular during the Fortuna Düsseldorf home games; and
The new building will be adorned with a large, light-flooded glass front.

merkur-spiel-arena.de quoted Peter Knoebel, Architect at Stadium Concept Design Consulting, as stating, “With its clear and modern architectural language, ‘The Box’ fits into the existing building as a matter of course and is directly connected to the VIP area as well as to the stadium promenade. The spacious and naturally lit interior can be used in many ways.”

Knoebel designed the plans for the new building and has already played a key role in the design and planning of the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA between 2001 and 2005.

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