Steigerwald Stadium

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steigerwald Stadium
Steigerwaldstadion (aerial photo 2018)
Steigerwaldstadion (aerial photo 2018)
Earlier names

Central German arena (1931–1948)
Georgij-Dimitroff-Stadion (1948–1991)

Data
place Arnstädter Strasse 55 Erfurt , Germany
GermanyGermany 
Coordinates 50 ° 57 '36.8 "  N , 11 ° 2' 14.1"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 57 '36.8 "  N , 11 ° 2' 14.1"  E
owner City of Erfurt
operator Arena Erfurt GmbH
start of building 1927
opening May 17, 1931
Renovations 1948, 1970, 1976, 1981, 1993–1994, 1999–2003, 2015–2017
demolition 2015 (partially)
surface Natural grass
costs 42.8 million euros (renovation 2015-2017)
architect HPP Architects (2014-2016)
capacity 18,599 places (since 2017)
17,500 places (2014)
playing area 105 × 68 m
Societies)
Events

The Steigerwaldstadion (full name: Steigerwaldstadion presented by Mediengruppe Thüringen ) is a football stadium with an athletics facility in the Löbervorstadt in the south of Erfurt , the capital of Thuringia , in the vicinity of the Südpark . Before the renovation work began in 2015, it held a total of 17,500 spectators (6,000 seats, 4,000 of which are covered). Today it offers 18,599 seats and is, after the Skatbank Arena in Altenburg , the second largest stadium in Thuringia. The Steigerwaldstadion is the home ground of FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt . The facility got its name from the nearby Steigerwald . The facility has been comprehensively renovated for almost 42.8 million euros and converted into a multifunctional event location. The stadium is operated by Arena Erfurt GmbH, a joint venture between SWE Stadtwerke Erfurt GmbH and Messe Erfurt GmbH.

history

Planning and construction

The planning of a stadium in Erfurt's Löbervorstadt goes back to the mid-1920s. In 1927, the then town planning officer Ludwig Boegl and the head of the structural engineering department, the architect Johannes Klass, presented specific plans. The plant was then built by Kernchen & Co with the help of unemployment welfare programs and dragged on until 1931 due to financial problems. The cost was around 500,000 Reichsmarks .

1931–1948: Central German arena

A characteristic part of the stadium was the monumental entrance building on the east side facing the south park. It consisted of a central building with three round arched gates and two symmetrical side wings to accommodate the cash registers. The building served the entry of the athletes in marathons and was therefore called "marathon gate". There was a roof terrace above the gates. The facility was built in natural stone, the canopies in front of the ticket counters were built as cantilever plates made of reinforced concrete.

The entire sports facility was opened on May 17, 1931 under the name Mitteldeutsche Kampfbahn by Mayor Bruno Mann . The stadium was not initially intended as a home for a football club, but served as a typical multi-purpose stadium, primarily for gymnastics festivals, equestrian games and athletics events. For this purpose, it had a 500 meter long running track and an 8 meter wide grass track for equestrian sports. Football games were initially only carried out occasionally.

On July 26, 1932, Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP used the stadium for a large-scale rally, which is said to have been attended by over 75,000 spectators. After the seizure of power in 1933, further parades and torchlight procession followed. For this purpose, the stadium was enlarged by a wooden grandstand for a further 1,270 spectators and thus held a total of 35,000 spectators. On August 25, 1935, Germany and Romania played their first international match (4-2) in the Erfurt stadium.

1948–1991: Georgij Dimitrov Stadium

After the end of the Second World War , gaming was initially discontinued. Under the Soviet occupation, the venue was used for growing potatoes, among other things. On November 6, 1948, the stadium was reopened after a new lawn was laid, now under the name Georgij Dimitrov Stadium . In the 1950s, the previous audience record was set. The GDR league game Turbine Erfurt against Chemie Leipzig (1: 2) was attended by 47,390 spectators.

In addition to the soccer games of Turbine / FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, the stadium was also used several times during the GDR era for the stage arrivals of a cycling stage race, the "International Peace Ride" , and to hold athletics events. In 1965, the athletics track was shortened to 400 meters and covered with tartan in 1969. The stadium received an electronic scoreboard and a floodlight system with 1000 lux illuminance . This was inaugurated on October 6, 1970 with the friendly game FC Rot-Weiß against Vasas Budapest (2-2) with 14,000 spectators.

The GDR national soccer team played the following five international matches in the Dimitroff Stadium:

date home guest Result spectator
June 21, 1961 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic MoroccoMorocco Morocco 1: 2 25,000
Sep 11 1966 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic PolandPoland Poland 2-0 30,000
Aug 30, 1978 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic Bulgaria 1971Bulgaria Bulgaria 2: 2 9,000
28 Mar 1984 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 2: 1 7,000
23 Aug 1989 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic Bulgaria 1971Bulgaria Bulgaria 1: 1 5,000

Since 1991: Steigerwald Stadium

In 1991, after a survey of the Erfurt population, the sports facility was given its current name Steigerwaldstadion . In 1992 the old wooden grandstand was demolished and a new grandstand was built by 1994, with space for 4,000 spectators. Also in 1994 the German Athletics Championships took place in the Steigerwald Stadium for the first time. The first open-air concert in the history of the stadium took place on June 13, 1996 - the US rockers Bon Jovi started their tour of Germany here. With this type of use, a number of around 45,000 spectators is the upper limit, as became clear on June 1, 2003 at a concert by Herbert Grönemeyer .

In 1999 the floodlight system was completely renewed. Shortly before the inauguration of the new floodlights at the game against FC Erzgebirge Aue on December 4, 1999, one of the four masts buckled due to a material defect. After years of disputes over the question of guilt and a renewed reconstruction of the floodlight masts, the new floodlights could finally be inaugurated on March 7, 2003 for the game against 1. FC Saarbrücken . The question of guilt has not yet been finally clarified.

As part of the 2001 European Women's Football Championship , which was held in Germany, the following three preliminary round matches took place in the Steigerwald Stadium:

date Team 1 Team 2 Result spectator
June 23, 2001 GermanyGermany Germany SwedenSweden Sweden 3: 1 10,252
June 27, 2001 GermanyGermany Germany RussiaRussia Russia 5-0 6,249
June 30, 2001 SwedenSweden Sweden RussiaRussia Russia 1-0 820

Since the reunification of Germany, the German Athletics Championships have been held three times in the Steigerwald Stadium. In July 2005 the U23 European Championships took place here. On December 13, 2010, a new underfloor heating system was put into operation in the stadium .

The rights to the stadium name should be sold to a sponsor after the renovation . Income of 400,000 euros was planned for this. No contractual partner had been found by June 2016. On August 25, 2016, it was announced that the Thuringia media group had become a name sponsor and that the Steigerwald Stadium will keep its name, to the delight of the fans. Officially, the addition "presented by the Thuringia media group" is added. At the end of July 2018, the contract on the name was extended.

Herbert Grönemeyer gave the first concert on June 11, 2016 in front of 21,000 visitors. It served as a practical test for upcoming events in the stadium. An official opening game for the converted Steigerwald Stadium was planned for January 22, 2017. The Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund should be a guest . It was contractually agreed that BVB would compete with its best team. However, the game was not kicked off, the BVB plane could not land due to fog. The game was rescheduled on August 5, 2017. The venue was actually supposed to open in August 2016.

Renovation 2015–2017

From 2015 to January 2017, the stadium was converted into a multifunctional arena . The spectator capacity has been increased by around a thousand seats to 18,559 (including 9,465 seats). Three covered grandstands and a functional building were built. There are crew cabins and conference rooms. The old grandstand built in 1994 on the west side was retained for the time being. For cost reasons, however, it has not yet been renovated, but gutted and only used sporadically. The conversion of the Steigerwald Stadium into a multifunctional arena was delayed several times. Finally, the arena officially opened on January 22, 2017. The planned opening game between Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Borussia Dortmund had to be postponed several times. At the first meeting on November 11, 2016, the stadium was not yet fully usable due to the delays. Since the BVB team was unable to land at Erfurt Airport on January 18, 2017 due to fog, the game had to be rescheduled again. It finally took place on August 6, 2017.

For the use of the new arena, the FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt should also make higher rent payments to the Arena GmbH. The lease was disputed for months because the income from the home games of the third division club could not cover the rental costs, especially since the costs for security expenses, for example, have increased significantly. Ultimately, an agreement was signed in April 2017 that staggered rent payments according to the number of viewers.

In 2011, it was decided to convert the stadium into a multifunctional sports and event arena for up to 120 days of events per year, which should originally be completed by the end of 2013 and cost around 27 million euros. Ambiguities about the legal conformity of the subsidy of the state of Thuringia in the amount of 29.5 million euros with EU law could only be clarified in March 2013. Accordingly, the start of construction was planned for spring 2014 and completion in mid-2015. The total capacity should be 21,700 after completion and the costs should amount to 35.2 million euros. The tender for the construction had to be carried out a second time after there had apparently been errors in the original tender in June 2013. This delayed the start of construction. On August 8, 2013, Erfurt's Lord Mayor Andreas Bausewein announced that the renovation should start in late summer or autumn 2014 and be completed in 2016. At the beginning of October 2014, the old Steigerwald Stadium was officially bid farewell: There was also a new edition of the 1991 UEFA Cup game against FC Groningen , which ended 1: 1, followed by the song “Time to say goodbye” accompanied by Pyrotechnics and fireworks.

The design by the architects' office HPP Architekten was selected in November 2014 and stipulated that the main stand and the floodlight system would remain. An event building with space for up to 2,000 guests was built behind the new east stand. The waste heat from the neighboring Gunda-Niemann-Stirnemann hall is also used to heat and cool the stadium . The renovation was expected to cost almost 40 million euros. 33 million euros were to come from the state of Thuringia as funding, and the city of Erfurt wanted to contribute around six million euros. After the construction work, the stadium will offer 18,599 seats. The special architectural feature of the converted Steigerwald Stadium is the basic octagonal shape, as we know it from the Max Morlock Stadium in Nuremberg . In terms of color, the sports facility is kept in red and white. These are the colors of FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, the state of Thuringia and the German Athletics Association (DLV).

criticism

In November 2014 Bausewein also announced that the last historical remains of the old central German arena, the "Marathon Gate", would be demolished in spring 2015. The Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology had failed to register the complex as a cultural monument. The planned demolition led to protests from the population. The Erfurt sports historian Karl Gaida said: "If the gate is torn down, the stadium loses its defining symbol". In January 2015, the demolition of the type-built shell hall (1970/71), the "running tube" and the ticket booth at the marathon gate began.

gallery

and display information about the image
Panorama of the old stadium (2006)

  • Steigerwaldstadion in 2007

  • Marathon gate (middle part) of the stadium from 1931 (state 2006), was demolished at the end of January 2015

  • Block 3 (target curve)

  • Main stand

  • Steigerwald Stadium after the renovation (2018)

  • Steigerwald Stadium after the renovation (2019)

literature

  • Werner Skrentny: The big book of the German soccer stadiums ; Werkstatt-Verlag; 2001; ISBN 3-89533-306-9

See also

Web links

Commons : Steigerwaldstadion  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d stadiumdb.com: Description: Steigerwaldstadion (English)
  2. ↑ stadiumdb.com: Conversion of the Steigerwaldstadion (English)
  3. ↑ Overview of the Steigerwald Stadium. FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt eV, archived from the original on August 26, 2013 ; Retrieved August 18, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b c stadionwelt.de: Steigerwaldstadion successfully approved Article from February 10, 2017
  5. ↑ stadtwerke-erfurt.de: Arena Erfurt GmbH
  6. ↑ Sports facilities ( memento of October 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on erfurter-sportbetrieb.de, accessed October 28, 2013
  7. ↑ a b René Röder: The construction of the Erfurt stadium, a balancing act. Thüringische Landeszeitung Weimar, November 10, 2014, accessed on November 10, 2014 .
  8. ↑ mdr.de: Naming rights for Steigerwaldstadion not yet sold ( Memento from December 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Article from June 10, 2016
  9. ↑ thueringen24.de: #RWE Liveticker: Mediengruppe Thüringen saves the name “Steigerwaldstadion” Article from August 25, 2016
  10. ^ The name of the Erfurt stadium is retained. In: stadionwelt.de. August 1, 2018, accessed August 3, 2018 .
  11. ↑ mdr.de: Steigerwaldstadion Erfurt passed the test - Grönemeyer inspires 21,000 fans in the new arena ( Memento from December 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Article from June 12, 2016
  12. ↑ stadionwelt.de: Opponent for inauguration game is fixed Article from November 30, 2016
  13. ↑ Arena GmbH: The Steigerwald Stadium: Numbers, data, facts. July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018 .
  14. ↑ MDR Thuringia: No landing - opening game against BVB failed. January 22, 2017, archived from the original on June 2, 2017 ; accessed on May 17, 2017 .
  15. ^ MDR Thuringia: Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Arena agree on a lease. April 12, 2017, archived from the original on May 17, 2017 ; accessed on May 17, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Steigerwaldstadion Erfurt and Sportfeld Jena are being rebuilt. CMAC GmbH & Co. Verlags KG, May 2, 2011, accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  17. ↑ Marco Alles: In spring 2014, the renovation of the Steigerwald Stadium will begin. Zeitungsgruppe Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, March 23, 2013, accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Dirk Lübke: Multifunctional arena in Erfurt is likely to face a new tender. Zeitungsgruppe Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, July 30, 2013, accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  19. ↑ Christoph Lesk: The renovation of the Steigerwald Stadium is delayed until 2016. Julian Koch, August 9, 2013, accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  20. ↑ hpp.com: Conversion project on the website of HPP Architects
  21. ^ Matthias Thüsing: Marathon gate will be torn down first , Thüringer Allgemeine, November 7, 2014
  22. ↑ See Steigerwaldstadion: demolition begins, in: moderneREGIONAL, January 28, 2015 ( http://www.moderne-regional.de/steigerwaldstadion-abriss-beginnt/ Steigerwaldstadion: demolition begins).