Under the deal announced this week, Bayern Munich will become the owner of Sportpark Unterhaching Stadium through the subsidiary that operates the men’s home ground, Allianz Arena, on January 1, 2026. It is reported to have an initial cost of €7.5 million ($8.8 million) plus costs associated with refurbishing the facility over the next few years.
“The acquisition of Sportpark Unterhaching is another milestone in the overall development of our FC Bayern Women,” Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Driessen said in a statement announcing the move.
“The new playing home of our women’s team will meet UEFA requirements and will also meet the demand of spectators in the future.”
Major Capacity Upgrade
The development of women’s football in Germany appears to have been a major contributing factor to this move. The Bayern Campus Arena, where the women currently play, holds only 2,500 spectators – and 10 of last season’s 11 home matches were sold out. The Unterhaching Stadium, about 20 kilometers from the Allianz Arena, was the home of men’s Bundesliga football at the turn of the century and has a capacity of 15,000. The men’s team playing there, Spielvereinigung Unterhaching, had recently been transferred to the Bavarian regional league.
The deal will also give Bayern three training pitches and a clubhouse with a restaurant and beer garden – all located in the direct vicinity of the stadium.
“We are very proud to have a new home here,” Bayern women’s football director Bianca Recht told reporters gathered at the Sportpark on Wednesday.
The plan for Bayern Women is to start playing all of their Champions League games at Unterhaching from next season. Bayern is scheduled to begin playing its Women’s Bundesliga games at the stadium in 2029, by which time it hopes to move the entire women’s program to the complex.
Driessen acknowledged that it would be a big investment that wouldn’t bring immediate financial benefits, but he said it’s all about the long term.
“We believe in women’s football, otherwise we would not have taken this step,” she said.
“After the establishment of the Women’s Bundesliga e.V., the aim is to send a signal to German football.”
Women’s football in Germany also received a boost when the country was recently selected to host the 2029 European Championship.
Former Bundesliga club gets new landlords
As for the current tenants of the stadium, which spent the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons in the Bundesliga, there should be little change. Bayern is purchasing the stadium from the municipality of Unterhaching, a southern Munich suburb. So the club would go from being a tenant of the city to a tenant of Bayern Munich. After the city announced plans to sell the facility, the Unterhaching club expressed interest in purchasing it themselves, but came to the conclusion that they could not afford it.
“This (deal) means that we will retain our playing home at the stadium at Sportpark, and infrastructure measures will ensure that it is fit for the future with the increasing demands of professional football,” said Unterhaching president Manfred Schwable, a former Bayern midfielder.
The two clubs are linked not only because of Schwabel’s connection to his former club, but also because of a quirk of Bundesliga history. On May 20, 2000 – the last matchday of the season – Unterhaching beat table-topping Bayer Leverkusen 2–0 at the Sportpark – allowing Bayern to climb above Leverkusen and win the league.
Edited by: Matt Pearson