In fact, these stadiums don’t exist like that: so empty, so brightly lit and unreal. With squashed stands that are actually on the sidelines. And slogans on seats that no one can read because they are covered by spectators. “Mia san Mia” is emblazoned on the main stand of the Allianz Arena, where FC Bayern Munich plays. The distinctive club diamond is embedded several times in the upper tier of the Hamburg Volksparkstadion and there are so many Lego-colored seats in the Düsseldorf stadium that the arena looks full even without a single guest.
EM stadiums: Unvisited in too bright light
None of the three million football fans who will be drawn to one of the ten venues for the European Championships will ever see them like this. Not only because they are unvisited and virtually naked (some even have no grass), but also because they are bathed in a rather too glaring light through long exposure. Although they are thus robbed of their function, the functional buildings still unfold a magic.
The ten European Championship stadiums were photographed by Michael von Hassel, as well as all other arenas of the 36 first and second division football teams. “We see sacred places of our everyday life in a state of rest,” writes cultural scientist Alexander Gutzmer in the 200-page Illustrated book “Bundesliga Cathedrals” (Callwey Publishing).
Stadiums full and roof over them
Some professional stadium-goers also have their say in the book. For example, world champion and TV expert Lothar Matthäus. He describes his ultimate stadium feeling as follows: “It’s important, of course: the stadium has to be full. It’s nice when the seats aren’t too far from the pitch. It’s good when the stands have a roof. I also like it when you can close the roof when it’s freezing cold, like at Schalke. In short: the atmosphere just has to be right.”