Cryptorebel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Hänsch-Arena is a German soccer stadium located in the city of Meppen, Lower Saxony. The 13,696-seat stadium was opened in 1924 and is the home ground of the SV Meppen soccer club.
The main stadium of the city of Meppen was built in 1924 in the north of the city. Three years later, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the politician Paul von Hindenburg, the stadium was renamed Hindenburgstadion in his honor.
In 1962, a covered stand was built and the old west stand was renovated, covered and equipped with changing rooms. In 1969, floodlights were installed, which were removed in the 1970s due to their deterioration. In 1985, a new office, changing rooms and a restaurant were built in a complex of buildings on the south side of the stadium. In 1992, the stadium was renamed Emslandstadion because of its geographical location (the Emsland district, Emsland in German). The following year the field was expanded to meet the requirements of the DFB. The athletics track was removed to make room for a soccer only stadium. In 1996, a new floodlight system was built. In November 2005, the stadium was renamed Vivaris Arena Emsland for a period of five years and then became the MEP Arena between 2011 and 2013.
Since 2011, the women’s team of SV Meppen plays its home games in the stadium.
