Southwest Stadium

Southwest Stadium
	View into the southwest stadium
Earlier names
	Adolf Hitler Stadium
Data
place	Erich-Reimann-Strasse 38 67061 Ludwigshafen am Rhein , Germany;
Coordinates	49 ° 28 '6 " N , 8 ° 26' 29" E Coordinates: 49 ° 28 '6 " N , 8 ° 26' 29" E
owner	City of Ludwigshafen am Rhein
start of building	1937
opening	1940
Renovations	2007
surface	Natural grass
capacity	6,000 seats ; 41,383 seats (before the renovation)
Societies)
	ABC Ludwigshafen;
Events
	Final game of the German soccer championship 1952 ; DFB Cup final in 1953/54 ; DFB Cup final in 1967/68 ; Four international matches for the German national soccer team (1952–1966); Games from FC Arminia 03 Ludwigshafen (1952–1979); Games of SV Waldhof Mannheim (1983–1989); Games from FSV Oggersheim (2005–2009); 1. FC Kaiserslautern matches (occasionally); Concerts;

The Südweststadion is a football stadium with an athletics facility in the city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein , Rhineland-Palatinate .

history

The groundbreaking ceremony for what was then the Adolf Hitler Stadium took place in 1937. It was completed in 1940 and offered space for 14,000 spectators. During the Second World War , the sports facility was destroyed and rebuilt from 1949 with the rubble from downtown Ludwigshafen and the city of Mannheim. The reopening took place on November 11, 1950. The capacity at that time was officially 41,383 seats - more than originally planned, as there was plenty of rubble.

Numerous sporting events took place in the Südweststadion between 1950 and 1970. The record number of visitors came in 1952 at the final of the German soccer championship between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Saarbrücken . The 83,000 spectators could be accommodated by additional grandstands. The 1. FC Kaiserslautern held many of their final round matches for the German championship in this sports facility because of the larger audience capacity of the Südweststadion compared to the Betzenbergstadion .

At the beginning of the Bundesliga season 1978/79, 1. FC Kaiserslautern were guests in the Südweststadion for two home games due to the expansion of their own stadium at Betzenberg. From 1983 to 1989 SV Waldhof Mannheim played 102 Bundesliga games in the Südweststadion in the absence of a stadium suitable for the Bundesliga. From 2005 to 2009 the FSV Oggersheim played its home games in this venue.

Nowadays the Südweststadion is in a very bad condition, as no financially strong tenant can be found. The standing stands in both curves are closed because they are in disrepair. Since FSV Oggersheim was promoted to the regional league in 2007, the city of Ludwigshafen decided to renovate, for which around 1.5 million euros were estimated. Above all, the security requirements of the DFB were implemented. From June 12, 2007, intensive work was carried out in the stadium. After the construction work, the capacity is limited to 6,000 places. These are distributed over 4,500 seats and 1,500 standing places.

Today it is also used for major cultural events ( open-air concerts ). International artists who performed in the facility included Elton John , Michael Jackson , Peter Maffay , Metallica , Iron Maiden , Eros Ramazzotti , Bon Jovi , Herbert Grönemeyer and Bruce Springsteen .

Major football games

Championship Finals

75559184150 ♠June 22, 1952: VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Saarbrücken 3: 2 (officially around 83,000 spectators, unofficially up to 100,000 spectators)

DFB Cup finals

75630162225 ♠Apr. 17, 1954: VfB Stuttgart - 1. FC Cologne 1-0 a.d.
76177149225 ♠0June 9, 1968: 1. FC Cologne - VfL Bochum 4-1

(the finals each drew around 60,000 spectators)

International matches

75576951925 ♠Dec. 21, 1952: Federal Republic of Germany - Yugoslavia 3-2 (70,000 spectators)Germany Federal Republic Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic