1. Home page
  2. Home page /
  3. Learning about /
  4. The Messe and Arena

Messe and Arena

Messe Düsseldorf ↑

The Düsseldorf Messe (trade fair and exhibition centre) was previously the location of the European Youth Day in 2009. It is therefore an ideal site for the International Youth Convention, with:

  • adequate capacity (19 exhibition halls with an area of 261.800 square metres)
  • the Arena in direct vicinity for all events and participants
  • good connection for all means of transport

Düsseldorf lies on the edge of the densely populated Ruhr district in close proximity to the key European highways. It has a good connection to the rail network of the Deutsche Bahn, to local public transport facilities and to the international Düsseldorf airport. These conditions are unique in Europe – only Las Vegas (USA) offers comparable features. More than 40 exhibitions take place per year in Düsseldorf; the most familiar is the international water sport exhibition “boat – Düsseldorf”.

Messe Düsseldorf

The Arena Düsseldorf ↑

The Arena, home to the “Fortuna Düsseldorf” football club, is located in the immediate vicinity of the exhibition grounds. It has a seating capacity of 66,500.

The multi-purpose arena was built in 2003 on the site of the old “Rheinstadion”, and was officially opened in 2005. It was originally intended to be used for some of the football matches of the 2006 World Cup competition; however the selection of World Cup locations did not include Düsseldorf. In 2005 a divine service at the opening of the Catholic Church World Youth Day took place in the Arena. More than 60,000 young Christians took part then.

↑

The Arena has the advantages of having a retractable roof and a unique heating system. When it rains, the roof, which is 235 metres long, 201 metres wide and weighs 8,000 tons, can close within 30 minutes. With an outside temperature of down to minus 5 deg. C the temperature of the Arena inner space can rise to 15 deg. C when the roof is closed, thanks to built in warm air heating, gas heating and under floor heating.

An unusual feature of the stadium is the brightly coloured seats in grey, yellow, red, blue and black. The colour arrangement follows an exact architectural plan and gives the impression that the stadium is full, even when only partially filled by the public.

The Arena is also very impressive when seen from above. It is cladded with aluminium profiled panels, with a projection “media screen”, making it very suitable for the projection of advertisements or live broadcasts from the Arena. The panel profiles have the diameter and spacing of a typical Düsseldorf “Altbier” glass.

Arena Düsseldorf