# Liebenauer Stadium

The Liebenauer Stadium, sponsored as the Merkur-Arena (formerly known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium and UPC-Arena), is in the Liebenau area of Graz, Styria, Austria. The ground is the home of the football clubs SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK.

## History

The first Liebenau Stadion was built before World War II. In the 1950s it was renovated and expanded with a skating rink (now home of the ice hockey team Graz 99ers) and an indoor pool. A motorcycle speedway track was constructed around the pitch and hosted qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Championship in 1965 and 1970. In the 1970s it became home ground of the big football clubs of Graz, SK Sturm and Grazer AK. The stadium was demolished to make way for a new one.
In 1996, construction began on the new stadium, which was to be named after bodybuilder, actor and former governor of the U.S. state of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was born near Graz. It was built from 1996 to early 1997 and is owned by Stadion Liebenau Betriebs GmbH. It opened with the game Grazer AK vs. SK Sturm Graz on 9 July 1997 (0:4).
In December 2005, when Schwarzenegger did not stop the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams, an intense discussion in his hometown began about what to do with the stadium that bore his name. After some days, Schwarzenegger revoked the city of Graz's right to the use of his name, ending the debate. On the night of 26 December 2005 the name was removed from the stadium. The remaining part Stadion Graz-Liebenau was removed on 17 February 2006 and on 18 February 2006 the stadium was renamed to UPC-Arena. In March 2016 the Austrian insurance company Merkur Versicherung secured the rights to bear a name and the stadium was renamed to Merkur-Arena.
In 2023, the city of Graz renamed the forecourt of the Merkur Arena to Ivica-Osim-Platz ('Ivica-Osim-Square'), a long time player and trainer of SK Sturm Graz, who had died the previous year.

## Facts

The Merkur-Arena has an official capacity of 15,400 in 27 sectors. At Champions League games of the SK Sturm Graz, some additional platforms were built so that the stadium had a capacity of 16,000 spectators. Furthermore, the stadium has a wheelchair area. The first game in the "new" UPC-Arena was the 125th derby between SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK (4:0). The field equipped with undersoil heating has a size of 105 x 68 metres.
The stadium hosted a World Cup qualifier between Austria and Faroe Islands on 5 September 2009 which ended in 3–1 victory for the home team. It also hosted an international friendly between England and Japan on 30 May 2010. England had been training in Irdning, a small village in the Austrian Alps, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The match ended 2–1 to England, courtesy of two own goals by Japan.

## Average attendance

The average season attendances from league matches held at the Merkur-Arena for Grazer AK and SK Sturm Graz.
| Season | Grazer AK | SK Sturm Graz |
| 1997–98 | 8,772 | 9,167 |
| 1998–99 | 7,040 | 10,972 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,584 | 11,123 |
| 2000–01 | 5,631 | 10,831 |
| 2001–02 | 7,294 | 10,057 |
| 2002–03 | 6,919 | 7,374 |
| 2003–04 | 9,007 | 7,836 |
| 2004–05 | 8,396 | 6,739 |
| 2005–06 | 7,372 | 8,330 |
| 2006–07 | 5,807 | 9,546 |
| 2007–08 | 2,792 * | 12,015 |
| 2008–09 | 2,590 | 12,830 |
| 2009–10 | 1,800 | 11,726 |
| 2010–11 | 2,548 | 11,875 |
| 2011–12 | 3,618 | 10,827 |
| 2012–13 | 1,809 ** | 10,682 |
* Relegated to 3rd league. ** Dissolved after 6 matches.
Since 2012 SK Sturm Graz continuously played in the stadium, while GAK returned 2019 when they reached the 2nd league again.

## Sponsors

From 2006 to 2016 the stadium was sponsored by UPC Austria, and was known as the UPC-Arena
Merkur Versicherung won the sponsorship rights from 2016. The contract is set to last for 10 years until 2026.