Waldstadion | |
![]() ![]() | |
![]() | |
Former names | Waldstadion (1925-2005) Commerzbank-Arena (2005-2020) |
---|---|
Address | Mörfelder Landstraße 362 |
Location | Frankfurt, Germany |
Coordinates | 50°4?7?N 8°38?43?E / 50.06861°N 8.64528°ECoordinates: 50°4?7?N 8°38?43?E / 50.06861°N 8.64528°E |
Public transit | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Owner | Waldstadion Frankfurt Gesellschaft für Projektentwicklung |
Operator | Eintracht Frankfurt Stadion GmbH |
Executive suites | 81 |
Capacity | Football: 51,500 (9,300 standing for league matches) 48,500 (International matches) American football: 48,000 Concert: 44,000 |
Field size | 105 by 68 metres (344.5 ft × 223.1 ft) |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Built | 1925 |
Opened | 21 May 1925 |
Renovated | 1937, 1953, 1974, 2005 |
Construction cost | EUR 150 million[1] |
Architect | Gerkan, Marg & Partner[2] Max Bögl[3] |
Tenants | |
Eintracht Frankfurt (1925-present) Frankfurt Galaxy (1991-2007) Germany national football team (selected matches) |
The Waldstadion (German pronunciation: ['valt.?ta:din], English: Forest Stadium), currently known as the Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship purposes, and formerly known as the Commerzbank-Arena, is a retractable roof sports stadium in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. The home stadium of the football club Eintracht Frankfurt, it was opened in 1925. The stadium has been upgraded several times since then; the most recent remodelling was its redevelopment as a football-only stadium in preparation for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup. With a capacity of 51,500 spectators for league matches and 48,500 for American Football and International Football matches, it is among the ten largest football stadiums in Germany. The stadium was one of the nine venues of 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and hosted four matches including the final.
The sports complex, which is owned by the city of Frankfurt, includes the actual stadium and other sports facilities, including a swimming pool, a tennis complex, a beach volleyball court and a winter sports hall. The arena has its own railway station, Frankfurt Stadion, on the national rail network.
The original stadium was opened in 1925. In 24-28 July, Waldstadion hosted the 1925 Workers' Summer Olympiad.[4] The football final between Germany and Finland was played in front of a crowd of 40,000 spectators.[5] In 1937, the spectator capacity through expansion of the back straight was increased to 55,000.[]
The first major changes to the stadium were made following a game between Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Nürnberg in May 1953. Almost 70,000 tickets were sold for a stadium envisioned for only 55,000 spectators, and 200 fans were injured as thousands tried to force entry.[]
The renovated and enlarged Waldstadion was reopened on 14 May 1955 after 19 months of construction work. The stadium once more hosted national team matches as well as some important games for Eintracht Frankfurt, who reached the final round of the German National Championships in 1959. During the run to the final, 81,000 watched Eintracht beat FK Pirmasens - an attendance record that still stands.[]
In December 1960, an ice rink was opened within the oval of the velodrome. Here, the ice hockey team of Eintracht Frankfurt played their home games until 1981. In 1960 the stadium was given floodlights.[]
The first Bundesliga game in the Waldstadion took place on 24 August 1963 - a 1-1 draw with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on the first day of the new German national league.[]
The stadium hosted the World Championships in track cycling in 1966 and the heavyweight boxing championship between Muhammad Ali and Karl Mildenberger on 10 September 1966, won by Ali with a knockout in the 12th round in front of 22,000 spectators.[]
The second major renovation of the Waldstadion was needed for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. From May 1972 to January 1974, the stadium was rebuilt virtually from scratch to meet the requirements of the World Cup venues. The opening ceremony of the 1974 World Cup was held at the Waldstadion.[]
In 1978, improved drainage and undersoil heating were installed.[]
The first final of the newly introduced Women's European Cup was held at the stadium in May 2002, and the home team of 1. FFC Frankfurt beat Swedish side Umeå IK 2–0 to lift the trophy.[]
The new Waldstadion is primarily designed as a football arena, but can be used for other turf sports like American football and major events. The grandstand offers rooms that are for meetings, conventions and other events in external markets.
The new arena was officially opened at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, the test run for the 2006 World Cup. Both the opening match (Germany 4–3 Australia) and the final (Brazil 4–1 Argentina) were hosted at the stadium.[]
The main user of the stadium is the football team Eintracht Frankfurt, which has used the stadium as its home base since 1963.[]
In addition, the stadium also serves occasionally as an alternative venue for home games of other teams: 1. FSV Mainz 05 played their qualifying matches for the 2005-06 UEFA Cup against the Armenian representatives Mika and against Keflavík ÍF from Iceland and for the 1st Round proper against Sevilla FC in the Commerzbank Arena.[6]
The women of the local football team 1. FFC Frankfurt defeated Umeå IK 3-2 in the stadium on 24 May 2008 in the final second leg of UEFA Women's Cup, winning the European Cup for the third time and setting up a record for women's club football of 27,500 spectators.[]
The Turkish Football Federation has also staged several games in the arena, as Turks form a significant ethnic minority in Germany. Be?ikta? won the Turkish Super Cup with a 1-0 win over Galatasaray. Due to the suspension by UEFA of the Turkish national stadium, the qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 2008 against Malta (final score 2–0 to Turkey), against Moldova (5–0 for the Turks) and against Norway (final score 2–2) were also played here.[]
The Waldstadion from 1991 to 2007, with a few interruptions, was home stadium for the NFL Europa's Frankfurt Galaxy American Football team. The stadium hosted World Bowl '98, World Bowl 2000 and World Bowl XV in 2007.[]
Since 2008 the ground has hosted the final of the German Bowl, final match of the German Football League. An average of around 15,000 fans watched the 2008 and 2009 finals.[]
The Waldstadion hosts numerous concerts and festivals every year, especially during the summer. Since 2013, the stadium hosts the BigCityBeats World Club Dome every end of May or June.
Concerts at the Waldstadion | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date(s) | Performer(s) | Opening act(s) | Tour / Event | Attendance | Revenue | Ref(s) |
15 June 1985 | Bruce Springsteen E Street Band |
N/A | Born in the U.S.A. Tour | N/A | N/A | |
12 July 1988 | Tunnel of Love Express Tour | 51 700 | ||||
26 May 1990 | The Rolling Stones | Gun | Urban Jungle Tour | N/A | ||
27 May 1990 | ||||||
28 August 1992 | Michael Jackson | Kriss Kross, Rozalla, TLC | Dangerous World Tour | 60,000 | -> | |
2 June 1993 | U2 | Stereo MCs, Die Toten Hosen | Zoo TV Tour | 50,000 | [7] | |
25 June 1993 | Guns N' Roses | Brian May Band, Suicidal Tendencies | Use Your Illusion Tour | |||
27 July 2000 | Tina Turner | Joe Cocker | Twenty Four Seven Tour | 51,460 / 51,460 | $1,926,238 | |
5 June 2007 | Herbert Grönemeyer | N/A | 12 Open Air Tour | 69,636 / 76,524 | $3,788,010 | [8] |
6 June 2007 | ||||||
13 June 2007 | The Rolling Stones | Starsailor | A Bigger Bang | N/A | [9] | |
5 July 2007 | Genesis | N/A | Turn It On Again: The Tour | 44,040 / 44,040 | $3,610,047 | [10][11] |
3 June 2008 | Bon Jovi | Gianna Nannini | Lost Highway Tour | 37,187 / 37,187 | $2,985,360 | [12] |
14 June 2008 | Celine Dion | N/A | Taking Chances World Tour | N/A | [13] | |
9 September 2008 | Madonna | Robyn | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 39,543 / 39,543 | $6,020,706 | [14][15] |
12 June 2009 | Depeche Mode | M83 | Tour of the Universe | 42,000 | N/A | [16] |
3 July 2009 | Bruce Springsteen E Street Band |
N/A | Working on a Dream Tour | 40,471 / 40,471 | $3,765,940 | [17] |
10 August 2010 | U2 | Kasabian | U2 360° Tour | 53,825 / 53,825 | $5,544,868 | [18][19] |
11 June 2011 | Herbert Grönemeyer | Norman Sinn | Schiffsverkehr Tour | N/A | [20] | |
25 May 2012 | Bruce Springsteen E Street Band |
N/A | Wrecking Ball World Tour | 40,219 / 40,219 | $3,759,361 | [21] |
2 June 2012 | Gotthard | Unisonic | Firebirth World Tour | N/A | [22] | |
5 June 2013 | Depeche Mode | Trentemøller | The Delta Machine Tour | 40,960 / 40,960 | $3,295,523 | [23] |
9 August 2013 | Roger Waters | N/A | The Wall Live | 26,422 / 29,000 | $3,292,846 | [24] |
8 June 2014 | Justin Timberlake | DJ Freestyle | The 20/20 Experience World Tour | 38,646 / 38,646 | $3,841,803 | [25] |
10 June 2015 | Helene Fischer | Glasperlenspiel | Farbenspiel Live | 36,000 / 36,000 | N/A | [26] |
3 July 2015 | Manfred Mann's Earth Band Floyd Reloaded |
N/A | Rockclassics in Concert | N/A | [27] | |
25 May 2016 | Goran Bregovi? Bijelo Dugme |
Alen Islamovi? Tifa |
The "Balkan Rolling Stones" Live in Frankfurt | [28] | ||
17 July 2016 | Rihanna | Big Sean DJ Mustard Bibi Bourelly |
Anti World Tour | [29] | ||
29 July 2016 | Beyoncé | Chloe x Halle Ingrid |
The Formation World Tour | 36,647 / 36,647 | $3,739,440 | [30][31] |
3 September 2016 | Billy Joel | N/A | Billy Joel in Concert | 31,718 / 31,718 | $3,821,370 | [32] |
9 June 2017 | Hans Zimmer | N/A | Hans Zimmer Live on Tour | [33] | ||
20 June 2017 | Depeche Mode | Algiers | Global Spirit Tour | 41,483 / 41,483 | $3,417,345 | [34] |
30 June 2017 | Coldplay | Tove Lo Femme Schmidt |
A Head Full of Dreams Tour | 87,833 / 87,833 | $9,018,910 | [35][36] |
1 July 2017 | ||||||
19 July 2017 | Robbie Williams | Erasure | The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour | [37] | ||
20 July 2018 | Helene Fischer | Ben Zucker | Die Stadion-Tour 2018 | |||
1 June 2019 | Andreas Gabalier | Stadion Tour 2019 | ||||
28 June 2019 | Pur | Zwischen den Welten Open Air Tour 2019 | ||||
13 July 2019 | Rammstein | Rammstein Stadium Tour | ||||
22 July 2019 | Pink | Vance Joy Bang Bang Romeo KidCutUp |
Beautiful Trauma World Tour | |||
9 September 2019 | Herbert Grönemeyer | Tumult Tour 2019 | ||||
6 July 2021 | Iron Maiden | Sabaton, Airbourne | Legacy of the Beast World Tour |
As part of a naming sponsorship by Commerzbank AG, the Waldstadion was renamed the Commerzbank-Arena on 1 May 2005 for ten years. Commerzbank agreed to pay around EUR30 million to the city hosting company as part of the deal. During the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the stadium was officially referred to as the FIFA World Cup Stadium Frankfurt, as FIFA rules do not permit commercial naming of stadia.[]
Commerzbank allowed the sponsorship contract to expire on June 30, 2020 after 15 years.[38] The new name sponsor as of July 1, 2020 is Deutsche Bank, with whom a contract has been concluded until June 30, 2027 with an option to extend.[39] As of July 1, 2020, the stadium will officially be called Deutsche Bank Park.[40]
Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 1974 | ![]() |
![]() |
59,000 | |||
18 June 1974 | ![]() |
![]() |
62,000 | |||
22 June 1974 | ![]() |
![]() |
56,000 | |||
30 June 1974 | ![]() |
![]() |
58,000 | |||
3 July 1974 | ![]() |
![]() |
62,000 |
Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 June 2005 | ![]() |
![]() |
46,466 | |||
19 June 2005 | ![]() |
![]() |
34,314 | |||
22 June 2005 | ![]() |
![]() |
31,285 | |||
29 June 2005 | ![]() |
![]() |
45,591 |
Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 June 2006 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,000 | |||
13 June 2006 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,000 | |||
17 June 2006 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,000 | |||
21 June 2006 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,000 | |||
1 July 2006 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,000 |
Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Spectators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 June 2011 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,817 | |||
6 July 2011 | ![]() |
![]() |
35,859 | |||
13 July 2011 | ![]() |
![]() |
45,434 | |||
17 July 2011 | ![]() |
![]() |
48,817 |
|journal=
(help); Missing or empty |title=
(help)
Preceded by Estadio Azteca Mexico City |
FIFA World Cup Opening Venue 1974 |
Succeeded by Monumental de Nuñez Buenos Aires |
Preceded by Stade de France Saint-Denis |
FIFA Confederations Cup Final venue 2005 |
Succeeded by Ellis Park Stadium Johannesburg |
Preceded by Hongkou Stadium Shanghai |
FIFA Women's World Cup Final Venue 2011 |
Succeeded by BC Place Vancouver |