HBM signs contract for Coface Arena in Mainz

It’s official – and the signatures at the bottom of the contract signed on July 20 confirm it: HBM presented the most convincing design, at precisely the right price, and has now been justly rewarded with the construction contract. The new Coface Arena in Mainz, central Germany, designed by the architects agn Niederberghaus & Partner, will provide space for 33,500 soccer fans. This visually unique arena, with its striking, red goal-post arches that frame the exterior elevation of all four stands, will cost around €44 million to build. Project promoter is Mainz’s municipally owned real-estate association, Grundstücksverwaltungsgesellschaft (GVG), with the city and regional authorities sharing the costs of the plot and infrastructure.


Image: www.avpgroup.de

Representatives of the city of Mainz, HBM, agn, Mainz 05 and the club’s principal sponsor, Coface, were all present at the signing of the 1,000 page-thick contract. In the meantime, the excavators have already started digging on the ‘Bretzenheimer Feld’ construction site in Mainz: the earth works are scheduled for completion this September, after which HBM can then begin the civil works. The plan is for the club to move into its new stadium and host its first home game in the spring of 2011. For HBM’s part, this contract is yet another spectacular highlight for 2009 – alongside the official openings of the impuls arena in Augsburg and the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion in Dresden, as well as completion of the stadia in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Images: www.avpgroup.de