Gladbeck Stadium

Gladbeck Stadium
	The Gladbeck stadium in August 2008
Earlier names
	Vestic arena
Data
place	Bohmertstrasse 1 45964 Gladbeck , Germany;
Coordinates	51 ° 33 '42 " N , 6 ° 59' 14" E Coordinates: 51 ° 33 '42 " N , 6 ° 59' 14" E
owner	City of Gladbeck
opening	May 17, 1928
surface	Natural grass
capacity	37,612 seats
Societies)
	Gymnastics Club Gladbeck; VfL Gladbeck; SV Zweckel;

The Gladbeck Stadium is a football stadium with an athletics facility in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Gladbeck . It was opened in 1928 as a vestibule arena . Even if there was never an official name change, the name “Stadion Gladbeck” has prevailed and is also used in official texts of the city that owns the stadium.

Today the facility has 37,612 seats, 36,292 of which are standing, and also houses all facilities for athletics. A special feature of the stadium, which has been a listed building since 1986 , are the three entrance structures built from Ruhr sandstone . The main entrance, the largest of the three gate buildings, is in the south, the other two in the north-west and north-east.

history

Planning and opening

The public recreation facility in Gladbeck is one of the city's projects during the economic boom of the 1920s that resulted from coal mining .

In 1923 the decision was made to build a sports facility near the Wittringer Forest. In addition to the stadium, an outdoor swimming pool , tennis courts and a city garden should also be built here . The town bought the forest area from a noble landowner in 1922. Josef Korte, the head of the municipal civil engineering office, was responsible for planning the system .

When the stadium opened, it had 3,000 uncovered seats. According to some statements, the standing wall was intended for 22,000, according to others for 40,000 visitors.

On May 17, 1928, the stadium was opened as a Vestische Kampfbahn in front of 25,000 spectators with a sports festival.

Events before World War II

Standing ranks of the Vestische Kampfbahn

Even before the official opening of the stadium, FC Schalke 04 played as reigning Ruhr district champions against Westphalia champions RSV 1872 Hagen in the final round of the West German championship on March 11, 1928 . 15,000 spectators saw Schalkes win 2-0.

The Royal Blues also set the pre-war audience record . In 1930, 27,000 spectators saw the 1-0 win in the West final round match against VfL Benrath .

In 1928 the "Vestische Industriestaffel" (running, swimming, cycling) arrived in the stadium, and in the early 1930s dirt track motorcycle races were held here.

After the seizure of power of the Nazis , the stadium was used for Nazi mass rallies after Adolf Hitler , a campaign speech was held here already on 24 July 1932 in front of 50,000 visitors, many of whom came from the surrounding cities.

Damage in World War II and reconstruction

The Vestische Kampfbahn was badly damaged during the Second World War . The three entrance structures and the standing wall on the east side were destroyed and there was a bomb crater on the playing field .

The stadium was rebuilt by the citizens of the city. On July 13, 1947, the reopening took place in front of 15,000 spectators with city games in football and field handball between Gladbeck and Bottrop .

The capacity was expanded to over 45,000 after the war. This was crucial in order to be able to host important football matches.

Events after World War II

View of the athletics arena

After the Second World War , the stadium was mainly used for football matches .

In 1948, 40,000 spectators saw the championship game of the British zone of occupation between Borussia Dortmund and FC St. Pauli (2: 2 a.s., repetition in Braunschweig 0: 1).

The attendance record was set on May 21, 1950, when 45,000 spectators attended the final round of the German championship between VfR Mannheim and Borussia Dortmund (3: 1).

First and second division football in Gladbeck

Although Gladbeck never had a first-class football club itself, first-division football could be seen in the stadium for one season. The STV Horst-Emscher , the 1948 Games against Bonner SC and Hamburger SV fought out in Gladbeck, moved during the renovation of Furstenberg stadium in the league season 1950/51 into the arena.

Of the total of 122,000 spectators who came to the Hussars' home games in Gladbeck, around 30,000, almost a quarter, saw the local derby against FC Schalke 04 (2: 2).

Second division football was in Gladbeck from 1957 to 1963, when Sportfreunde Gladbeck , who merged with SuS Rosenhügel to form 1. FC Gladbeck in 1966, played in what was then the second division .

Monument protection and modernization

The illuminated grandstand of the Gladbeck stadium

In 1986 the facility in the center of Gladbeck was listed as a historical monument . The modernization of the stadium began the following year. A grandstand for 2,500 visitors was built on the west side . The standing trusses were also renewed in accordance with the requirements of monument protection. A total of 1.2 million Deutschmarks were spent on the modernization.

In 2009, the construction of a roof over the grandstand in the stadium was completed. This now offers the spectators, but above all the athletes, protection from bad weather. The grandstand roof is illuminated in the evening hours.

In 2015 the 25 year old synthetic membrane was renewed. All the areas concerned were replaced: the circular track, the long jump and the pole vault facility. The cost was around 350,000 euros.

After completion of the complete renovation, the municipal sports office and TV Gladbeck organized the national athletics stadium festival every year from 1989 to 1997 with participants from 27 nations. Most of the spectators came in 1996 and 1997 (2,000 each).

The stadium now has no floodlights.

In the Gladbeck stadium, the capacity of which is stated by the city to be 37,612, the Gladbeck gymnastics club and VfL Gladbeck in 1921 regularly hold athletics competitions.

In the 2016/17 season, SV Zweckel played two home games in the stadium.

Sports festivals and sports lessons from schools also occasionally take place in the stadium. The sports facility is open to everyone outside of events. The facility is the performance base of the Football and Athletics Association of North Rhine-Westphalia.