Liebenauer Stadium (UPC Arena)

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

Originally, the stadium was named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, a bodybuilder, actor, and former governor of the United States state of California who was born near Graz. Stadion Liebenau Betriebs GmbH owns it and erected it between 1996 and 1997. On July 9, 1997, it began with a game between Grazer AK and SK Sturm Graz (0:4).

When Schwarzenegger did not intervene to halt the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams in December 2005, a heated debate in his community erupted over what to do with the stadium that bore his name. After a few days, Schwarzenegger removed the city of Graz’s license to use his name, thereby ending the argument.The name was removed from the stadium on the night of December 26, 2005.Stadion Graz-Liebenau’s remaining portion was demolished on February 17, 2006, and the stadium was renamed UPC-Arena on February 18, 2006. Merkur Versicherung, an Austrian insurance business, obtained the rights to name the stadium in March 2016, and it was called Merkur-Arena.

In 2023, the city of Graz renamed the Merkur Arena’s forecourt Ivica-Osim-Platz (‘Ivica-Osim-Square’), after a long-time player and trainer for SK Sturm Graz who died the previous year.

The Merkur-Arena has an official capacity of 15,400 people divided into 27 sections. Away fans are typically housed in Sector 8, which has a capacity of around 750. When there are more than 750 away fans predicted, sector 9 and occasionally even sector 10 are assigned to the away team. During SK Sturm Graz’s Champions League games, various extra platforms were installed, increasing the stadium’s capacity to 16,000 people. The stadium also contains a wheelchair area. The 125th derby between SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK (4:0) was the first game at the “new” UPC-Arena. The field is 105 by 68 meters in size and incorporates undersoil heating.

On September 5, 2009, the stadium hosted a World Cup qualifier between Austria and the Faroe Islands, which the home team won 3-1. On May 30, 2010, it also hosted an international friendly between England and Japan. England has been practicing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Irdning, a little hamlet in the Austrian Alps. Japan’s two own goals helped England win the match 2-1.

From 2006 until 2016, the stadium was known as the UPC-Arena and was sponsored by UPC Austria. Merkur Versicherung was awarded the sponsorship rights in 2016. The agreement is expected to endure ten years, until 2026.