Niedersachsenstadion

Niedersachsenstadion (lit. 'Lower Saxony Stadium') was the name of a football stadium in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany from 1954–2002. Through a sponsorship deal, the stadium's official name currently (since 2022) is Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena. Between 2002 and 2013 a similar arrangement saw the stadium renamed as the AWD-Arena; from 2013 to 2022 the stadium was named HDI-Arena. The original 86,000-capacity stadium was completed in 1954 and has since been rebuilt several times for various major football events. Today it has 49,000 covered seats. Aside from football, the stadium was also the scene of several German athletics championships, the German Turnfest (a sports festival), field handball finals, concerts, rugby & American football. Since the performances of The Rolling Stones in 1982, the stadium has developed into the leading open-air concert venue in Northern Germany. After the stadium underwent extensive redevelopment in 2003/04, the open air tradition was revived again with a concert by The Rolling Stones in the new arena. Madonna performed at the stadium during her Confessions Tour in August 2006 for an audience of 40,000. Other performers who held a concert at the venue include Michael Jackson in 1988 as part of his Bad World Tour, Bon Jovi in 1996 for his These Days Tour, Status Quo in 2006 and U2 in 2010 during their U2 360° Tour with total 56,494 audience.