Alsterdorfer Sporthalle

The Alsterdorfer Sporthalle presents a formidable presence in the Winterhude quarter of Hamburg.

Unlike the football arenas that dominate the city skyline, this is an indoor arena built for a different kind of crowd.

Inside, the air is thick with the sound of bouncing balls on a wooden parquet floor. The surface is not grass, but a hard, polished wood designed for the quick pivots of handball and basketball.

The arena has hosted everything from the PDC World Cup of Darts to international fencing championships. While it lacks the rolling hills of a football ground, the atmosphere inside is no less intense. When HSV Hamburg plays, the crowd roars them on, a sound that bounces off the high ceiling and the metal railings of the upper tiers.