Esprit Arena

Esprit Arena
Exterior view of Esprit Arena and Stadtbahnwagen B
Former names	LTU Arena
Location	Düsseldorf, Germany
Coordinates	51°15′42″N 6°43′59″E / 51.26167°N 6.73306°E / 51.26167; 6.73306
Built	2002-2004
Opened	September 10, 2004 (2004-09-10)
Owner	City of Düsseldorf
Construction cost	€240 million
Architect	JSK Architekten[1]
Capacity	54,500 66,500 (concerts)[2]
Executive Suites	27 8 (event suites)
Field dimensions	100 × 70 m (330 × 230 ft)
Website	espritarena.de
Tenants
Fortuna Düsseldorf

Esprit Arena (originally LTU Arena) is a multi-functional football stadium in Düsseldorf, Germany. The stadium holds 54,600^[3] and has a closable roof. The special heating system allows comfortable events at the height of winter.

History

Aerial view of Messe Düsseldorf in District 5, showing the Esprit Arena on the far left

It was built from 2002 to 2004 to replace the former Rheinstadion at the same site near the river Rhine. The structure's initial capacity of 51,500 was expanded in summer 2010 when seating areas were converted into standing terraces. It hosts association football team Fortuna Düsseldorf (currently in the second division - 2. Fußball-Bundesliga).

German League Cup

The Esprit Arena during a Fortuna Düsseldorf game in 2005

The stadium regularly hosted both first-round matches of the German League Cup every July between 2005 and 2007.

The first round of the 2005 German League Cup was held in the Arena on 23 July 2005. In the first match of the day, Werder Bremen recorded a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, with Ivan Klasnić scoring the only goal after 18 minutes of the game had passed. The second match of the day was contested between Hertha BSC and Stuttgart, with Stuttgart winning 4-3 in penalty shootout after a goalless 90 minutes.

The second time the first round of the German League Cup was held in the Arena was on 29 July 2006, with Hamburger SV playing Hertha BSC in the first match of the day and Schalke 04 playing Bayer Leverkusen in the second match of the day. Hamburg won their match against Hertha 1-0, with the only goal scored by Vincent Kompany in the 52nd minute. In the second match of the day, Schalke beat Leverkusen 9-8 in a lengthy penalty shootout that followed as a result of a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes of normal time. Schalke's Darío Rodríguez fired Leverkusen into a 1-0 lead with his own goal just before the half-hour mark, with Marcelo Bordon equalising for Schalke shortly thereafter.

The first round of the 2007 German League Cup took place in the Arena on 21 July 2007. The first match of the day featured Schalke and Karlsruher SC, who won the 2nd Bundesliga for the 2006-07 season. It was the first time the champions of the 2nd Bundesliga took part in the competition. In the match, Tamás Hajnal missed an early penalty for Karlsruhe and Schalke eventually won 1-0, with Halil Altintop scoring the only goal in the 35th minute. The second match of the day featured Bundesliga title contenders Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich. Tim Borowski fired Bremen into an early 1-0 lead, but Bayern eventually came back to win the match 4-1, with first-half goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Hamit Altintop and Franck Ribéry followed by another Ribéry goal from a penalty early in the second half.

Bayer Leverkusen

During the second half of the 2008-09 Bundesliga season, the Arena temporarily served as the home ground of Bayer Leverkusen, due to redevelopment of their regular home ground, the BayArena. Leverkusen hosted a total of 11 competitive games in the Arena, 8 in the Bundesliga and 3 in the German Cup.

International matches

The Arena was not one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but it hosted several international matches since it opened.

The first international match in the Arena was an international friendly between Germany and Argentina on 9 February 2005, ending in a 2-2 draw. On 7 February 2007, Germany played their second international friendly in the Arena, beating Switzerland 3-1. In their third international friendly in the Arena, on 11 February 2009, Germany suffered a 1-0 defeat to Norway.

The Arena also hosted two international friendlies of the Portuguese national football team. In Portugal's first international friendly in the Arena, on 1 March 2006, they recorded a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia. On 26 March 2008, Portugal played their second international friendly in the Arena, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Greece national football team.

Other sporting events

The stadium was the former home of the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, an American football league. They were tenants half a year after it reopened to the end of the 2007 season. Espirit Arena is also due to host the Race of Champions 2010, of which home drivers Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher have already signed up for. Esprit Arena is the host stadium for the boxing bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Jean Marc Moreck set to take place on the 10th December 2011. The stadium also hosted the boxing bout between Wladimir Klitschko vs Eddie Chambers on the 20th of March 2010; Klitschko won the bout by 12th round KO.

Music events

Esprit Arena with Eurovision Song Contest 2011 wrapping

On New Year's Eve 2008, the dance music event Sensation was held with an attendance of over 15,000.

Depeche Mode performed at the stadium in 2006 and 2010. The two 2010 shows were recorded for the live albums project, Recording the Universe.

The arena has played host to music festivals, including Projekt Revolution.

Esprit Arena hosted the 56th Eurovision Song Contest in 2011.

Madonna played two concerts in 2006 and 2008 during her Confessions Tour and Sticky & Sweet Tour in Düsseldorf´s Esprit Arena.

Naming rights

The naming rights to the stadium are currently held by clothing manufacturer Esprit.^[4]

Prior to July 2009, the German airline LTU held the naming rights.

Düsseldorf's mayor Dirk Elbers stated that, due to treaty obligations, the arena would lose its sponsor name and be renamed Düsseldorf Arena for the period of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 which was held there in May 2011.^[5]

A panorama of Esprit Arena

Public transport

train of Düsseldorf Stadtbahn at Esprit arena/Messe Nord station

Esprit Arena/Messe Nord is a terminus station of the Düsseldorf urban rail line 78, part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR).

Preceding station		Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn		Following station
Terminus		U78		Mörikestraße toward Düsseldorf Hbf

Preceded by Telenor Arena Bærum

Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2011

Succeeded by Incumbent

References

1. ^ . http://www.jsk.de/media.php/PDFs/sport/sport_duesseldorf_ltu.pdf. 
2. ^ espritarena.de
3. ^ "Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895: ESPRIT arena" (in German). www2.fortuna-duesseldorf.de. http://www2.fortuna-duesseldorf.de/pages/stadion/esprit-arena/index.htm. Retrieved 01 November 2010. 
4. ^ "Neuer Namensgeber vorgestellt" (in German). www.ltuarena.de. 16 March 2009. http://www.ltuarena.de/template_content_id.php4?contentId=1056&hlc=0_0_0. Retrieved 17 March 2009. 
5. ^ "Sieben Live-Shows beim Eurovision Song Contest" (in German). Der Westen. 25 October 2010. http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duesseldorf/Sieben-Live-Shows-beim-Eurovision-Song-Contest-id3872226.html. Retrieved 26 October 2010. 

External links

• Official Homepage of ESPRIT arena (German) (English) (Dutch)

Coordinates: 51°15′42″N 6°43′59″E / 51.26167°N 6.73306°E / 51.26167; 6.73306