Last Friday, construction work to modernize and convert the Mercedes-Benz Arena into “Arena 24” began on schedule. With the official breaking by Stuttgart’s mayor Thomas Fuhrmann as well as representatives of the city of Stuttgart, VfB Stuttgart and the owner NeckarPark GmbH & Co. KG, demolition works started on the main stand.
In 2024, the Mercedes-Benz Arena will host five matches of the UEFA European Championship. To meet the requirements of a modern European Championship stadium, the arena is therefore being refurbished. Based on the architectural designs of asp Architekten Stuttgart, the main stand, tiers and fan curves are being expanded and further developed.
Ernst & Young Real Estate is managing the conversion of the Mercedes-Benz Arena, for which schlaich bergermann partner is once again responsible for the structural design.
For the modernization, the main grandstand from 1974 will be completely renewed and expanded. This will create new sports function rooms, a new hospitality area as well as a new press conference hall and supply corridor on level 1. As all construction work will be carried out on the existing structure, any interference with it will be minimized and load increases avoided. As a result, the existing structural system will remain essentially the same, while avoiding load shifts. Furthermore, the demolition edge runs in such a way that load transfer is ensured during the entire construction period as well as in the final state. The reconstruction will create almost 2,000 additional standing places in the Cannstatt fan stands, as well as a separate area with wheelchair spaces.
Any building material produced during the dismantling of the stands will be recycled. Technical components and parts of the existing interior will be reused as far as possible for the new structure. Material that cannot be used will be further processed by a specialized company, which will significantly reduce the amount of construction waste. Furthermore, a photovoltaic system with a capacity of 300 kWpeak is being installed on the upper pressure ring of the roof structure. The system will supply electricity for the stadium’s own consumption. The refurbishment of the arena will take place during regular game operations – completion is scheduled for the beginning of 2024.
Since its modernization in 1993, schlaich bergermann partner has been supporting the Mercedes-Benz Arena (formerly Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion) in all structural design issues, both during renovations as well as during ongoing stadium operations. In the early 1990s, the stadium received a new roof designed by sbp with a steel cable truss construction and textile membrane for the World Championships in Athletics. In 2011, the stadium was retrofitted into a soccer arena with an integrated gymnasium. In this process, an additional inner roof ring was added to the existing structure. Most recently, our office was entrusted with the replacement of the roof membrane in 2017. Therefore, we are very pleased to be contributing again to the modernization of the Mercedes-Benz Arena!
