What's written on Stefan Kießling's shin pads? How many metres of piping are used for the undersoil heating? And what do rope access technicians see that normal fans don't? A team of photographers photographed nearly every corner of the BayArena on ten different days last season. The, in part, breathtaking aerial shots were taken using a 19 kilo drone and from a small propeller plane. The result was 16,000 photographs whittled down to 850 with 200 finally making it into the book.
"A stadium is like having a house: It's never finished and there is always something to do," explained Michael Schade. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen CEO was the instigator of this ambitious photographic project. A visual homage to this historic location that has been home to Bayer 04 players and supporters for over 60 years.
The last major reconstruction project was completed in 2009. Since then 48 rows of seats have been capped by an artistic roof structure whose 28,000 m² Makrolon layer protects the spectators from rain and gives the stadium a venerable appearance. Over 1,000 games have already been played at Bismarckstraße. And, although there are regularly 250 members of the media present, there are still many almost undiscovered nooks and crannies plus innumerable fascinating perspectives.
24 hours at the BayArena – that's the name of this illustrated book that also includes a compact overview of the history of the stadium and plenty of statistics on the club. And it is also a recommended read for anybody who also wants to know how many watts are used on lighting the pitch in the winter or how cold it is in the cold chamber at the 'Werkstatt'. In short: '24 hours at the BayArena' is a must for anybody wanting to understand the stadium.
The book has an initial run of 3,000 copies. It is available from the Bayer 04 shops as well as the Online Shop priced at €49.90.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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