Esprit Arena

Merkur Spiel-Arena

The stadium was called LTU Arena from 2004 until 2009. The Merkur Spiel-Arena is a multifunctional stadium. Fortuna Düsseldorf’s football matches take place at the stadium, but concerts get hosted at the stadium, as well, like the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. It’s rather noteworthy to say that the stadium had another name in that year: Düsseldorf Arena. The stadium's capacity is 54,600 during football matches; during concerts and other events, the capacity goes up to 66,500. When the stadium opened in 2004, the stadium’s capacity was 51,500, but this increased after a seating stand was replaced by a standing stand. The stadium has a retractable roof and a special heating system that warms the complex in wintertime.

Previous stadium

Düsseldorf played at the Rheinstadion before the Merkur Spiel-Arena opened in 2004. This stadium opened in 1925 and got demolished in 2002, so the construction of their current stadium was able to begin. Beautiful matches took place at the Rheinstadion, amongst them the 1974 World Cup, the 1988 European Championship and a Europa Cup 2. The Rheinstadion was also used for other purposes than football. Concerts were held in the stadium, but also important American Football matches. Rheinstadion’s capacity fluctuated quite a bit over the years. The stadium’s capacity was 42,500 when it opened. 50 years later, the stadium welcomed 76,000 supporters but this changed again. At the end of the stadium’s life, the capacity was 54,000.

Visit Merkur-Spiel Arena?

Would you like to visit a match of the fantastic Fortuna Düsseldorf at the modern Merkur Spiel-Arena? Fortunately, there’s a very simple way to get to the stadium from the city’s centre. You hop on bus U78 towards D-Merkur Spiel-Arena/Messe Nord at bus stop D-Heinrich-Heine-Alle-U and you hop off at stop D-Merkur Spiel-Arena/Messe Nord. It only lasts 30 minutes to get to the stadium from the city’s centre. Would you rather avoid traffic and go to the stadium on foot? It takes around an hour to walk from Düsseldorf’s city centre to the stadium. If you travel with your own transportation device, you’ll be on your way for only 15 minutes. Book your football trip to Fortuna Düsseldorf at Number 1 Football Travel and visit the impressive Merkur Spiel-Arena!