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The Hamburg Arena has undergone several name changes since it opened in 1953 with the original name of Volksparkstadion (People’s Park Stadium) lasting until 2001 until the commercial realities of running a top flight football club caught up with Hamburger SV. Volksparkstadion has had three sponsorship names: AOL Arena (2001-2007), HSH Nordbank Arena (2007-2010) and currently Imtech Arena (2010 – present). The stadium was built in 1953 to replace the crumbling Altona Stadium, and the new 65,000 capacity stadium was used as part of the 1974 Fifa World Cup. It hosted three group matches, all of which contained the host nation including a tight encounter between East and West Germany with the “away” side defeating the hosts 1 nil. Until the reconstruction in 1998 the “Old Concrete bowl” was amongst the most unpopular stadiums in Germany with fans dissatisfied with the lack of adequate roofing, and restrictive athletics track around the perimeter of the pitch. The common complaints led to the vision of a “autonomous, and purely football” Arena Project. Consequently the old stands were demolished with the pitch rotating 90 degrees to allow better sunlight onto the pitch. The estimated cost of the new stadium was €90-100 million and Hamburger SV purchased the ownership of the ground outright from the council in 1998 to symbolically mark the start of a new area. The project came in slightly over budget which may have been the driving force of the naming rights sale in 2000. The Imtech Arena today is considered a UEFA Elite Stadium, and it hosted four group games in the 2006 World Cup as well as a quarter-final match between eventual winners Italy and Ukraine (3-0), although it was referred to Fifa World Cup Stadium Hamburg for sponsorship reasons. It also hosted the 2010 Europa League Final between Fulham and Atletico Madrid with the Spanish side winning 2-1.

DRIVING Imtech Arena is less than 1km away from the A7 stretch of motorway which traverses both North and South of the city, making it very accessible via car. Look for the Hamburg-Volkspark exit and then follow the signs to the stadium. The address for satnav is as follows: Sylvesterallee 7, 22525 Hamburg Car Park There is a large car park located 2 minutes west of the stadium which is accessible from Hellgrundweg road. Although it is large it does fill up quickly on matchdays, and we’re not currently sure how much it costs. TRAIN Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is the main train station of the city and is located very centrally, slightly North of waterfront part of town, to the right hand side of the Außenalster (Outer Alster) Lake. TRAM AND BUS On matchdays fans can catch a shuttle bus service from Stellingen station directly to the stadium, with an similar service also running from Othmarschen station with both stops located on the S11, S3 and S21 lines of the S-Bahn. Alternatively you can choose to walk the distance, which will take you no more than 15 minutes by foot. AIRPORTS Hamburg International Airport is around 11km North of the city centre in pretty much a straight line and takes around 22 minutes to drive via car with moderate traffic. As the fifth largest airport in Germany based on passenger numbers, Hamburg is a well connected destinations with over 60 airlines serving over 125 destinations. Once you have landed and grabbed your luggage you can travel to your hotel in the city via the S1 line of the S-Bahn which is a cheap and efficient form of ground transportation.