BAYERN MUNICH TO EXPAND ALLIANZ ARENA CAPACITY

Current UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Club winner, Bayern Munich have revealed plans to increase the capacity of the Allianz Arena to 75,000, which would make it the second largest stadium in Germany.The Allianz Arena currently has a capacity of 71,137, although that is reduced to 67,812 for international games, and those in UEFA competitions, due to standing restrictions.Munich has been named Germany’s candidate city for the 2020 European Championship, which is set to take place in cities throughout Europe, and will bid for 'package A' -- which would entail three group-stage matches as well as one game from the last-16 or quarterfinals -- and 'package B,' which comprises both semifinals and the final.
However, the Allianz Arena’s capacity would need to be increased beyond 70,000 to meet UEFA requirements for the tournament, and Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that plans are in place.Muenchener Merkur quotes Rummenigge as telling a fan club meeting at the weekend: “We will do all we can do increase the capacity of the arena. It looks like we’ll have a capacity of 75,000.”The newspaper reports that Bayern are planning to increase capacity by converting the free steps in the upper tier of the stadium, while Rummenigge has also vowed to “do something good” for the fans and introduce a further 2,000 places for standing fans.Should the plans go through, the Allianz Arena would overtake Berlin’s Olympiastadium and become Germany’s second biggest stadium behind Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion, which has a total capacity of 80,645, reduced to 65,829 for international games.