While the lights of the Frankfurt Christmas Garden currently shine around the Waldstadion, there is a lot of work going on inside the stadium. The free time is used to expand the upper rank of the northwest curve. In future, there should be space for up to 60,000 fans in the stadium. The preparatory work has been going on for a year and since September the construction work has also been visible to guests. The aim of the work is to convert the previous upper level seating into a modern standing/sitting system.
Sports chief Mike Josef, who learned of the state of play on Wednesday, November 23, welcomes the good progress with the conversion work: “This expansion will benefit football fans: In the future, many more fans will be able to watch the matches with cheap live Eintracht tickets.”
Eintracht board spokesman Axel Hellmann was also satisfied: “Deutsche Bank Park has also been a successful model from a European point of view for many years and a crowd puller far beyond the borders of the Rhine-Main region . To ensure that the stadium also has development potential in the future, Eintracht is also investing sustainably in the infrastructure of the stadium.”
In addition to the creation of the new grandstand, further sustainable improvements in spectator comfort are planned. 680 new bicycle parking spaces will be created in six locations around the stadium grounds to meet the growing demand for adequate parking. Anyone who has ever tried to find a place for their two-wheeler on a match day will attest to how urgent the need for new parking spaces is.
Wheelchair spaces will also be modernised. In future, the stadium will have around 180 seats for wheelchair users and around 250 seats for accompanying persons. Says Josef: “In the future, more than one person will be able to accompany the wheelchair user, a desire that the group has had for a long time.”
Furthermore, as part of the expansion, an additional rainwater storage tank will be built, which will be used for flushing the toilets of the new sanitary facilities.
Work to increase the stadium’s capacity will be completed as planned in July 2023 and up to 60,000 fans will find their place in the heart of Europe in time from the start of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season.
