The Significance Of Wimbledon And Allianz Arena In Sporting Culture

Critically examine two different sites of sport heritage, preferably from two different countries. Sites can include museums, halls of fame, venue tours, for example.

You should link the theoretical concepts of history, heritage, and sporting legacy with their practical application and visitor experience. The strategy encourages you to read across these varied sources and is designed to enhance your skill and familiarity with a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of history, its public representation, preservation and dissemination.

Wimbledon - Heritage, Tradition and Innovations

For a country to excel it is necessary to develop a strong sporting culture. The manner in which sports influence people and unite a nation defines its importance. The heritage left behind by sports helps in the economic growth of a country as well. Sports help a country to gain international recognition. The teams, individuals and venues that exist in a sporting culture help in establishing global fame. In this assignment, two such sporting heritages are discussed that have played a huge impact in bringing the particular country to the limelight. The rich legacies that have been left behind these sporting heritages have left a deep impact on the mind of the people. It has also been seen that the sporting heritages have also seen the evaluation of the respective sports. The focus of the assignment is on two sporting areas, Wimbledon and Allianz arena that have helped in the development of the respective sports and delivered a rich culture for the people of the countries.

The Champions Wimbledon, commonly known as Wimbledon is one of the four major Grand Slams that are played by professional tennis players. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments mainly because of its 141-year-old rich heritage. The All England Club located in the English county of Wimbledon conducts the competition. One of the main significance of the sporting event is that it is the only major tournament that is played in the grass. Wimbledon also has a rich tradition that defines the sporting heritage of the country along with the discipline.

In 1937, history was created with Wimbledon being televised for the first time. In the 21^st century, Wimbledon is considered as the premier tournament in the world and with the introduction of major changes in technology. As such, various notable achievements have been a part of the rich heritage of the sport. The new introduction of the new retractable roof along with Hawkeye has provided players with an opportunity to continue playing even during the rainy season and challenge the call of the referee. In 2010, Wimbledon witnessed another historical event in the first round of the championship when John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut after 11 hours and 5 minutes of competition that ultimately had the scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. This by far is the longest tennis match recorded in the history of the sport.

Wimbledon is also the event that provides the highest amount of money to its winners. The prize money was first awarded in 1968 with the Men’s title winner earning £2000 while the Ladies’ title winner earning £750. However, with a change in time and the increase in popularity of the competition, the prize money as of 2017 increased heavily and £2.2 million was awarded to the winners of the championship. Thus, Wimbledon upholds the richness of the game and promotes interest among young and old people. 40-50 years old people remain interested in the sport due to its rich culture.

Wimbledon - Economic Growth and International Recognition

Bayern Munich or Bayern Munchen is a football club in Germany based in the city of Munich. The team competes in the Bundesliga, top-tier German football club competition. Bayern Munich is the most successful club in the country having won 28 national titles and 18 national cups. The club was founded in 1900 about 188 years ago by 11 football players that were led to Franz John. Bayern made its appearance in the Bundesliga in 1963 and tasted its finest ever success under the leadership of Franz Beckenbauer in the 1970s. In the club coefficient ranking, Bayern Munich is ranked 2^nd among all the major clubs in Europe. The club held the top rank in the coefficient ranking from 1985-1990.

These teams compete in the Bundesliga with Bayern and compete for winning the title by being the best club in the country. In the international level, Bayern is heavily contested by Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and Manchester United and others. These rivalries are seen more during the Champions League, which takes place between the top clubs of Europe. Over the years, Bayern has signed many players and coaches. The most expensive signing that Bayern had made was of Javi Martinez for a record fee of €40 million in 2012. The current home ground of the club is the Allianz Arena having shifted from the Olympiastadion for 33 years. Bayern currently is the Bundesliga champion and is on course to lift the Champions League for the 2017-18 seasons.

Allianz Arena is a football stadium located in Munich, Bavaria. The capacity of the stadium is about 75,000 and is known for its inflated ETFE plastic panels. It is also the first stadium in the world with the ability to have a full colour-changing exterior. The stadium occupies the second largest area in the country only behind Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. The field size of the stadium is 105 by 68 metres that are about 114.8 yards by 74.4 yards. The stadium was built within three years starting from October 2002 to May 2005. The cost of construction of the stadium was about €340 million.

The stadium was host to 1860 Munich from 2005-2017 and to Bayern Munich from 2005 until the present day. Apart from the club football matches, the stadium is also known to host a few international matches involving Germany. The stadium also offers three-day care centres and a fan shop that provides opportunities for people to interact with the players and other officials of the stadium. The FC Bayern Munich Megastore offers merchandise to the fans and the stadium is located nearby numerous restaurants and fast food establishments. Inside the stadium, there exist four locker rooms, one each for the home and opposition teams, four coaches’ rooms and two rooms for the referees.

Allianz Arena - Football Club Stadium with Fan Shops and Care Centres

The fans of the club are the greatest strengths as they provide the extra support needed for the team. As such, to make the football team stronger Bayern sends out and takes in players on loan from different clubs. These players can be considered as a gift to the club so that the financial position of the loaner may increase. Some of the current loaned out players of Bayern Munich include Renato Sanches, Douglas Costa, Marco Friedl and Serge Gnabry.

Keeping the rich history of sports in mind, the effectiveness of the museums can also be stated. The categorising of the museums that are done mainly fall in the corporate category. As such, the museums of Wimbledon as well as Bayern Munich’s can be considered as public relation exercises of the country.  Professional staffs take care of the museums that help in linking the organisational history along with the brand so that brand value can be built in the mind of the visitors. One of the similarities that exist between the two countries is that the focal areas are popular among the people mainly due to its rich history. The rich heritage of both the stadiums helps in strengthening the brand image. This creates a lasting impression in the minds of the visitors and set forth a strong set of values that are linked to the heritage and reputation that precedes the stadiums.

Sports are often considered as nostalgic moments that help in representing the personality of a person. It can help in enhancing the overall contents of the lives of the individuals and develop a feeling of patriotism among the people. Wimbledon and Bayern contribute heavily to develop the sporting nostalgia among the people. For example, famous sporting moments such as the historical event match between Isner and Mahut are displayed in the museum of Wimbledon so that people can relive the match all over again. At the same time, the voice of famous personalities is used to provide guidance to the people visiting the museum. It has been seen that the voice of John McEnroe is used to provide guidance to the people visiting the museum. In the museum of Bayern, former football stars are engaged to discuss some of the tactics used by them during a particular match. This is done in the form of videos so that young people visiting the museum can learn the tactics and skills.

Allianz Arena - Rivalries with Significant Football Clubs and Hosts International Matches

At the same time, the museums have a trophy cabinet that displays the various sets of trophies won by the team or an individual. The trophy cabinet can be seen in the Bayern Munich museum that displays various trophies that have been won by the club. The most notable trophy collection that is on display is the 2013 trophy collection in which Bayern had won the domestic as well as the international cups. In the Wimbledon museum, tennis outfits worn by different players during their triumphs are on display with the signatures that help the people to understand the rich heritage that is present in the sports. Therefore, the museum can be used to represent the rich tradition of English culture and the norms it follows in the rich tradition. Therefore, the history of the championships is explained and items on display provide an understanding of the richness that exists in the museum history.

Wimbledon lawn tennis museum considered as the largest museum in the world. The inauguration of the museum was done in 1977 during the centenary event of the game. In the year 2006, the Duke of Kent declared that a new Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum will be formed that solely focuses on the game and  continue to provide people with experience of the rich traditions of the game. Evidence has been provided that the artefacts of the museum date back to 1555 as well as consist of modern day technology such as touch screen console. The museum provides opportunities for the customers to interact with the memorabilia of the players that had played the sport since its inception. At the same time, the museum provides customers to understand the atmosphere of the centre court called CentreCourt360. However, visiting this particular side of the museum is restricted particularly during the time of the Championship matches.

The customers are also provided with a guided tour that helps in exposing the customers about the behind the scenes experience. One of the characteristic of this particular museum is that audio guides are available that have several different languages so that people from all around the world can visit the museum and get to enjoy the atmosphere. The highlights of the museum is that it has certain features such as the cinema, the Whites of Wimbledon, John McEnroe’s Ghost and so on that provide entertainment to the customers and help them to get a positive experience of the type of atmosphere that the museum contains. However, one of the disadvantages of the museum is the fact since it is positioned inside the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club; it remains closed to the public during the time of the Championship. Ticket holders are the only people that can enter the museum during that time. The museum adds to the rich cultural heritage of the country and increases its economy as people from all over the world visit the site to support their favorite player.

The nostalgic aspect of the museum is that it contains pictures and memorabilia of famous sports person. Therefore, people can relive the rich heritage of the sport and try to connect with the changes that have been made in games since its inception. At the same time, it has been argued that the content of the museum consist of subjects that can create a feeling of patriotism among the people. For example, the longest match in the history of the game was played between two French men. Therefore, the French people can feel proud of the achievement. At the same time, the maximum number of titles won by a male and female are of Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. Hence, people of these countries can feel proud of the rich cultural heritage of the country as well as the sports.

Every day about 100,000 people visit the museum to understand the rich history of the sport. During the days of the event over 400,000 people, visit the stadiums spanning across 14 days. This provides an idea about the popularity of the sport and the museum. It also sheds light on the emotional and nostalgic factors that the people go through while visiting the museum. Thereby, it can be said that the rich cultural heritage of the sports get severely affected in the culture of the museum. The practical experience of visiting the site museum provided an opportunity to revisit the past and the golden moments of the game. This can help in the practical experience of the game and pursue young children to undertake tennis as a profession.

The museum heritage of Allianz Arena is not as strong or famous as other museums of the country. This may be mainly because of the fact that the stadium is newly made and incorporation of the rich tradition and history of Bayern have not been made. However, like other sports museums, the Allianz Arena museum is also situated in the sporting grounds. Accessibility of the people is restricted during the game days and customers get a dual experience regarding the contents of the museum as well as the sport. Unlike the Wembley, the Allianz Arena provides a less extensive tour of the museum. The tour of the museum includes sitting arrangements made in upper level seats. The tour guide was easy and it contained audio guidance from different languages so that people can understand it easily. One of the notable distinctions of the tour of the museum was that customers had to walk a lot to complete the entire tour.

As previously stated the museum does not have a much fan base and due to this, it does not get to attract a large mass of people. The price of the tickets for visiting the museum is cheap and thereby it does not contribute much for the betterment of the museum. As such it can be said that Allianz Arena museum despite its large area of land have failed to attract the customers as compared with the opportunities for development provided by other football museums such as the Wembley Stadium.

Despite the low fan base of the museum, the sport is popular in Germany and is considered as one of the factors that define the German culture. Therefore, the existence of the museum adds to the richness of the culture and help people to understand the development of the sport. It has been reported that 50,000 people visit the museum every day. Therefore, it can be said that the rich cultural heritage of the museum can be protected with the support of the people.

People may have a feeling of nostalgia after visiting the museum. The Allianz Arena displays some of the souvenirs that Bayern Munich or the German National team have won. These provide a sense of nostalgia among the people as they can relive the glorious days of the past. It has been argued that pictures or memorabilia of the first ever match to be played at the stadium is kept in the museum. This can be a huge nostalgic moment for the people as football fans interested in the history of the game can analyse the contents of the game and accordingly evaluate the progress of the sport and the stadium. The practical experience has been that the people visiting the museum remain satisfied with the decoration and the lightning. The surreal experience provided to the visitors helps in the understanding the rich cultural history of Bayern.  

After the analysis of the sports heritage, it can be said that it is necessary for countries to ensure that a proper sporting heritage is maintained. Sports help to bring about unity among nations and provide an opportunity for economic and financial improvement. Global events or significant sporting areas such as Wimbledon or the Allianz Arena are examples of the richness that the respective country possesses. Wimbledon denotes the discipline of the British culture whereas the creativity of the German culture is displayed by the innovation in the Allianz Arena. These result in highlighting the effectiveness of the cultures of the countries and promote the sports in a new and innovative manner. The museums of each of the sporting areas provide an opportunity of improvement of the condition of the club and country.

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