Stadion Magdeburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stadion Magdeburg
Full name	Stadion Magdeburg
Location	Magdeburg, Germany
Built	2005-2006
Opened	2006
Owner
Operator	HochTief Facility Management
Surface	grass
Construction cost	€31 million
Tenants	1. FC Magdeburg (Regionalliga Nord) 2006-present
Capacity	27,250 (22,350 seated)
Field dimensions	105 x 68 m

Stadion Magdeburg is a multi-use stadium in Magdeburg, Germany. It has been completed and opened to the public in December of 2006, replacing the old Ernst Grube Stadion. It will be used mostly for football matches and will host the home matches of 1. FC Magdeburg.

[edit] Stadium Facts

The stadium is a fully covered football-only stadium, i.e. without an athletics track. It has a capacity of 27,250 people; of these a capacity of 4,800 is standing room. For all-seater matches the standing room can be converted to 2,650 seats, creating a capacity of 25,000. In addition, there are 15 boxes with a total of 180 seats as well as 430 business seats. The stadium also has 64 seats for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, 40 press seats are available. The maximum distance from the pitch is 32 meters. The floodlight is attached to the stadium's roof, as well as the two 30m² screens. The pitch is 105 meters (115 yards) long and 68 meters (75 yards) wide, it has under-soil heating. Total cost of construction was 31 million Euros.

[edit] History

The first stadium at this location had been inaugurated on April 14, 1912 as the home of SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg. In 1914 it hosted the final to the German championship between Spielvereinigung Fürth and VfB Leipzig. In 1937 it was bought by the Allianz insurance company after Victoria had gone bankrupt. During World War II the stadium was completely destroyed by bombing.

After World War II the city of Magdeburg planned to erect a sports center consisting among others of a stadium with a capacity for 80,000 people and a natatorium. However, the city was unable to acquire the site originally intended and so the project was abandoned. Instead, the city decided to build a new stadium east of the Elbe river, at the site of the Victoria stadium. In order to erect the stands, about 5.3 million cubic ft of rubble were transported from the ruins of the city. The stadium was equipped with an athletics track and was opened in front of a crowd of 40,000 on September 18, 1955. Over the years, it was upgraded several times, parts of the stands were put under a roof, and floodlights were installed. However, after the reunification of Germany the stadium fell into disrepair and in 2004 the city council decided to build a new one at the same site. The Ernst-Grube-Stadion was demolished between March and June of 2005, and construction of the new stadium began on July 4, 2005.

The first match was held on December 19, 2006. In front of a crowd of 13,279, hosts 1. FC Magdeburg came to a nil-all draw against Eintracht Braunschweig. In the inaugural match, 1. FC Magdeburg lost 0-3 to Bundesliga side SV Werder Bremen, this time 24,300 spectators had come. In the remaining matches of the season, 10,800 spectators came to see 1. FC Magdeburg play on average. The first international match was held on July 29, 2007 when the German women's national team beat their Danish counterparts 4-0 in front of 10,735 spectators.