Dusseldorf - A Multifunctional Arena

The SPONSORs Sports Media Summit was held in the last couple of days at the Esprit Arena here in Düsseldorf, Germany.

And once more the stadium proved to me what it all can host.

I have visited the Esprit Arena on a number of occasions over the last few years, be it for football matches, a concert and now even a conference, while it also has hosted non-football sports like boxing and American Football.

And this visit once more showed me that these days a football stadium needs to be much more then just a sports venue to be able to generate revenues and keep itself busy on as many days as possible across a calendar year.

I have seen the same at the new Wembley Stadium in London, the Allianz Arena in Munich and the Arena auf Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.

And just to let you know, the Arena auf Schalke last Friday hosted the opening match of the 2010 Ice Hockey World Cup. The arena had close to 78,000 people attending to watch Germany shock the USA. And it was the largest ever crowd at an Ice Hockey game, but it was held at a multi-purpose football stadium.


Rebuilding the Arena

The "Esprit Arena" was build in place of the old Rheinstadion from 2002 to 2004. It was initially named "LTU Arena" after the Düsseldorf based charter airline, but last year the name changed to "Esprit" as LTU merged with Air Berlin and its name disappeared as an airline.
The naming rights itself is worth millions, a good source of income while for brands it is a good chance to spread their name.

But all this investment couldn't convince the 2006 FIFA World Cup organisers to include the stadium amongst the 10 host venues.


Stadium Specifics

The speciality of the 51,500 capacity arena is its retractable roof and its coloured seats, which makes TV audiences think the ground is sold out even if it isn't the case.
The ground also has a build-in roof heating system, so even in the coldest of winters it will be nice and warm at 17°/18°C with the roof closed. A real enjoyment while it is cold and icy outside.

The stadium is next to the Düsseldorf Trade Fair grounds, so parking isn't a big problem as elsewhere with public transport guaranteed through the tube which runs to the central station.

On non-match days the stadium can host conferences and meetings in its business area and the catering can activated for any possible event.

The speciality of the SPONSORs Sports Media Summit was that the main stage was build on the main stand with the listeners seated in the business seats of the stadium. A great way of hosting a conference, while the small studios for presentations were spread inside the walking ways of the stadium, where normally fans would come into the ground, get their food or go to the rest rooms.


What can India learn?

In India we desperately need new stadiums and need to rebuild some of our older stadia.

But why do we need to do so?

Simply to attract more crowds and higher spending fans to grounds to watch I-League action and also prepare ourselves for a possible 2026/2030 FIFA World Cup bid.

I know some might say, what rubbish is Arunava talking about or is he dreaming. To me the likelihood of India hosting a World Cup before qualifying for one is much more likely. But then a lot things need to be put in order plus certain steps need to be taken now so that we have a slight chance by the time the bidding process ends in eight to 10 years.

And for such a bid modern day stadiums are a mere basic.

So our people need to have a look at grounds around the world, learn what they can all do and then bring those ideas back to India.

But someone needs to invest into the infrastructure, be it corporates but also our governments need to come forward.