A Rainy Day for Soccer Fans | Gabriel Correa

After an average tasting burrito at the train station, the group was divided into four: those returning to the Hotel, the shopaholic girls, the Wonderboyz exploring Munich, and my group, the Allianz Arena group. We made our way to the FC Bayern München stadium, also known as the Allianz Arena, the second-best stadium in the world, since Real Madrid will always be #1. We made a long walk from the train station to the stadium, but the rain would not stop us.

My first impression from the outside of the stadium is that it was huge and the material from the outside of the stadium looked fluffy. We asked for touring tickets, so we could see the museum part of the stadium where they hold all the trophies and memories. We could also see the actual field from the stands and walk into the player’s locker room. Luckily for us, there were only 7 tour tickets in English available and we were exactly 7 people. We toured

the museum first, where we were able to see all the history of the soccer club, their achievements and much more. After that came the most exciting part of the tour, the Arena tour, where we were going to see the inside of the stadium. The grass was perfectly cut and the building itself was a big oval designed specifically that way to enhance the acoustics and encourage fans to chant louder. We proceeded to the incredible facilities inside the stadium, where the players warm up, exercise, get ready, receive medical attention and attend press conferences.

It’s incredibly awesome how all the different rooms inside the stadium were designed just to please the players and make them comfortable. I guess just like BMW and other companies, it is designed to retain their players and convince them to continue playing on the team. The players have four different locker rooms just for themselves and one of them even has a hot tub for the players to relax after games. Also, since Audi sponsors the team, each player makes a 1-year contract with Audi every year they play and get to choose one car, any model they want. I think it is amazing how the business works and how every player is treated just to try to keep them on the roster. It makes sense now how FC Bayern München has won the German league 6 times in a row.

It was a truly amazing building to tour in, it took much more time than expected, so the 7 of us basically had to sprint to the train station to try to make it on time to dinner, which we successfully did.