The arena was designed and built by the Austrian architect Roland Rainer in the years 1961 to 1964.

It used to be called Stadthalle Bremen until the financial services provider Allgemeiner Wirtschaftsdienst (AWD) bought the naming rights in January 2005.

When AWD withdrew its sponsorship at the end of 2009, the venue was renamed to Bremen-Arena,[2] effective 1 January 2010.

On 12 March 1999, American rock band KISS played the venue on their Psycho Circus Tour.

Depeche Mode performed at the venue several times, including when it was still called Stadthalle Bremen.