On Wednesday, September 25, Dynamo Kyiv will play against Lazio Rome in the first match of the main round of the Europa League.
Dynamo's home stadium for this stage will be the Hamburg Arena, built in 1998, located in the German city of Hamburg, which is usually the home arena of the local football club of the same name from the second Bundesliga.
Here is more about the stadium, which will host Dynamo's upcoming home matches in the Europa League.
The arena is called the Volksparkstadion, and the non-commercial name Hamburg Arena is used for European Cup matches. It is a UEFA Category 4 stadium and is considered one of the most beautiful stadiums in Germany. It was built on the site of the old stadium by architect Gustav Elsner and opened on April 30, 1998. The construction of the new arena was allocated 64 million euros (125 million Deutschmarks at the time).
The old stadium was completely demolished, and the new one was built with a 90-degree turn compared to its predecessor. Thus, the field received an axis of orientation not from east to west, as it was before, but from north to south, which ideally contributes to the sunlight and ensures good growth of the lawn.
The modern arena has a capacity of 57,000 spectators for national level matches (51,500 for international matches) and a grass surface, with field dimensions of 105x68 meters. "The Hamburg Arena has a purely football configuration. The stadium's stands are two-tiered, with the second tier divided into two independent sections with different angles of inclination. In the upper section, the inclination relative to the field is 35 degrees, in the lower section of the second tier - 30 degrees, in the lower tier - 20 degrees. The stands provide an excellent view from any seat.
The lightweight membrane fabric roof covers the stands 100%. The height from the roof canopy to the pitch is 35 meters. The field remains open and receives sufficient sunlight. The roof material itself allows a certain percentage of light and air to pass through. The roof fabric is stretched over a metal frame and held in place by a cable system with a total length of over 17 kilometers of cables.
On the inside of the roof, there are lighting floodlights that provide a level of illumination of the field of 1500 lux. Also, two color video boards are fixed under the roof (above the South and North stands). Each of them is 48 square meters in size.
The stadium is known for hosting the first ever Europa League final of the 2009/2010 season, in which Atletico Madrid defeated Fulham London 2-1, as well as the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2024 matches.
The stadium is home to the Hamburg Football Club Museum, which tells the fascinating story of the club over 700 square meters with the help of multimedia and unique exhibits. During the daily stadium tours, you can take a look behind the scenes of the arena, and in the stadium restaurant "Die. Rauté stadium restaurant offers a magnificent view of the stadium bowl.
In addition to football events, the arena hosted a fight for the IBF, WBO and WBA world titles between Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko and British boxer David Haye on July 2, 2011.
The venue also hosted a number of concerts by world-class stars. Back in 1988, Michael Jackson performed at the old stadium as part of his world tour, and Tina Turner's concerts took place here twice - in 1996 and 2000.
In 2009, the British electronic rock band Depeche Mode performed here during their world tour, and in 2013, the second concert of their tour in support of the Delta Machine album took place here.
in 2011 - a concert of the German band Scooter, and in 2016 - a concert of the Australian rock band AC/DC in support of their album "Rock Or Bust". Finally, on June 15, 2022, the German metal band Rammstein performed here.
An interesting feature of this stadium is the cemetery for the club's fans. In September 2007, the start of its construction was announced. The cemetery is located near the stadium and has 500 seats, and the entrance to its territory is designed in the form of a football goal. The cemetery was opened on September 9, 2009. According to the club's management, this way Hamburg fans will be able to be close to their favorite club even after death.