Georg Melches Stadium

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Georg Melches Stadium
Georg Melches Stadium 2011
Georg Melches Stadium (2011)
Earlier names

Stadium Phönixstrasse (1923–1937)
Stadium Rot-Weiss (1937–1939)
Stadium on Hafenstrasse (1939–1964)

Data
place GermanyGermany Essen , Germany
Coordinates 51 ° 29 '9 "  N , 6 ° 58' 40"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 29 '9 "  N , 6 ° 58' 40"  E
owner City of Essen
start of building 1923
opening 1923
Renovations 1939, 1948, 1975, 1983, 1994, 2005
demolition May 21, 2012
surface Natural grass
capacity 15,000 seats
Societies)

Rot-Weiss Essen (until 2012)

Helmut Rahn memorial at the stadium

The Georg Melches Stadium was the largest football stadium in the city of Essen and was located in the Bergeborbeck district . In 1964 it was renamed in honor of Georg Melches , a co-founder of Rot-Weiss Essen , who had died a year earlier . It was previously called Stadion an der Hafenstrasse .

The stadium served primarily as a venue for the Rot-Weiss Essen soccer club , but was also used for various other events. The venue was owned by Rot-Weiss until 1975 , when it was sold to the city due to financial difficulties. The capacity was recently 15,000 seats (almost all covered, only the first five rows of the main grandstand were "uncovered"), of which 11,000 were standing and 4,000 were seats. Since 1994 it has been a stadium with only three stands, unique in Germany with this capacity.

On May 21, 2012, one day after the last game in the Georg Melches Stadium, the demolition work began.

Stadium blocks

  • The back straight in the north was purely a standing room, which was roofed over and enlarged in the mid-1970s. At the beginning of the 2005/06 season, the grandstand had to be split up due to DFB specifications in order to ensure a reasonable separation of fans after and before the games. The former block I on the west side of the grandstand now served as block G for the guest fans and was separated from the rest of the grandstand by a double fence, where the supporters of Rot-Weiss Essen still stayed. The guest block held about 2100 spectators. In the outer area of ​​the guest block there were sausage stands, as well as beer stands and a large toilet. Due to the separate supply of away fans, it was ultimately also possible to ensure adequate incoming inspection as required.
  • The east grandstand was a previously uncovered curve for guest fans. In 1983 it was rebuilt as a covered standing room straight. Since the beginning of the 2005/06 season, it was completely reserved for RWE fans.
  • The main stand , built in 1956, was purely a seating area, inside which there was also the office, the club, various function rooms and other facilities. The VIP tent was temporarily located behind the main stand.
  • The west curve was demolished in the early 1990s due to its dilapidation.
  • From January 2008 to summer 2011 there was also a display board (3.4 m × 1.8 m) in the former west curve. It was replaced by a small grandstand with a scoreboard that was set up over the 2011/12 season with the motto Die Westkurve is alive .

Role model in the 1950s

In the 1950s, the stadium was one of the first modern venues in Germany to have a certain role model; Among other things, the republic's first floodlights were inaugurated here on August 8, 1956.

In addition, the main grandstand, which was also built in 1956, was one of the first modern grandstands in Europe. It also served as a role model because it was completely covered. In addition, a sauna, fitness area, swimming pool, medical department and players' apartments were set up in the grandstand building. The press spoke of the “German Highbury” at the time; a respectful comparison with the former home of the Arsenal in London .

New stadium construction

Floodlight pole

Since the 1990s, people in Essen have been thinking about building a new stadium on Hafenstrasse. According to a council decision by the city of Essen on May 26, 2004, construction work was to begin as early as the beginning of 2005. After relegated to the regional league in 2007, the current president Rolf Hempelmann announced the definitive start of construction no later than June 30, 2008 at the club's annual general meeting. This deadline passed without anything having happened; In addition, Hempelmann submitted his resignation shortly before. After all, through reorganized agreements with the main creditors MK Medien (formerly Kinowelt / Michael Kölmel), as well as the associated sports advertising company (SWS), the basic requirements necessary for a new building, which were mainly required by banks and investors, were met by the association. In addition, it was possible to decouple the building approval from the athletic qualification. The awarding of the 2011 women's soccer world championship to Germany, at which Essen was intended as a possible venue, was intended to provide additional impetus for the new stadium . However, since the implementation of the new building had stalled again and again, and no specific information on the planned stadium infrastructure could be given to the DFB by the cut-off date at the beginning of July 2008 , Essen was removed from the list of potential venues.

On March 4, 2009, the City Council of Essen decided to build a new stadium on the condition that the club can demonstrate professional structures, an agreement with the long-term sponsor, the MK-Mediengruppe, and sponsor commitments for the stadium in a legally binding form. The new stadium was to be built northwest of the old stadium and initially offer space for 20,000 spectators. If necessary, it should be expandable to a capacity of up to 40,000 spectators.

8 August 2009, the game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern  II, the then took Mayor Wolfgang Reiniger the first sod for this new stadium, to be built from September 2009 to July 2011. Due to the impending over-indebtedness of the city of Essen and the ongoing insolvency proceedings at Rot-Weiss Essen since June 2010, the new building stalled again. There were also political aspects as a result of the local elections in 2009.

In the council meeting on April 28, 2010, Essen's Lord Mayor Reinhard Paß stated that in view of the renewed financial gaps in the club, the city of Essen, which is also over-indebted, is unlikely to be involved in the construction of the stadium.

The Essen city council then decided on October 28, 2010 to build a new stadium with around 20,000 seats. The new stadium should from the 2012/2013 season next Rot-Weiss Essen , the women's soccer team of SG Essen-Schoenebeck play.

The new stadium offers 9,000 standing, 11,300 seats, press seats, business seats, box seats and wheelchair spaces.

Demolition work

After the last official league game of RWE on May 19, 2012 against Fortuna Cologne , a farewell game of a selection against an all-star team took place on the following day. Then the demolition of the north stand and the removal of the old playing field began.

After the completion of the warm building in the main grandstand, the guest and counter grandstand as well as the preparation of the new field of the new stadium in August 2012, the fan shop moved into the new stadium. In mid-September 2012, the office also left the main stand of the Georg Melches Stadium and moved to the Essen stadium. In April 2013, shortly before the completion of the last grandstand of the new stadium, the demolition work on the east grandstand began. At the beginning of May 2013, after the east grandstand was torn down, work began on demolishing the main grandstand.

On June 20, 2013, the demolition work on the former main stand was completed. The building rubble that resulted from the demolition work was then ground up and used to fill the excavation pit. The northwestern floodlight pole was then removed. The southwestern floodlight mast will be retained and the former stadium area was converted into a car park, which was put into operation on March 31, 2014.

literature

  • Georg Schrepper and Uwe Wick: On Hafenstrasse - RWE! - The history of the Georg-Melches-Stadium , Verlag Die Werkstatt, 1st edition 2011, 205 pages, ISBN 978-3-89533-820-5 .

Web links

Commons : Georg-Melches-Stadion  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. martijnmureau.nl Stadium history Georg Melches Stadium
  2. harlekinzessen2008.de.tl: data on the stadium
  3. groundhopping.de: Visitor report from 2001
  4. Capacity of the stadium ( Memento from June 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  5. rot-weiss-essen.de: Construction of the floodlight system - page 7 of the club's history ( memento of the original from June 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rot-weiss-essen.de
  6. reviersport.de: RWE - City Council gives the green light for the new stadium ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated October 28, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reviersport.de
  7. stadion-essen.de: data on the new stadium. Accessed on May 13, 2013
  8. derwesten.de: Demolition of the RWE stadium. Article of March 28, 2011