Football World Cup 2006 Germany

RheinEnergieStadion

Inside the Stadium

The RheinEnergieStadion is the major stadium in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that is primarily used for football. It was built on the site of the two previous Müngersdorfer Stadiums. It is the home of the local Bundesliga team, 1.FC Köln, and of the local NFL Europe team, the Cologne Centurions. The stadium is one of the 12 that will host the 2006 World Cup. The Stadium's name comes from a contract with Rhine energy AG that will run out in 2009.

History

After the Treaty of Versailles (1919) the walls of Cologne fell, therefore allowing for the building of a new structure in the surronding area. The new construction allowed the city to create 15,000 jobs. The new stadium was called the Müngersdorfer Stadion. This allowed the city not only to help stabilize the country but also too gain prestige and economic benefits for the city. The cost was tallied at 47.4 Million Marks but was omitted with the 1923 currency reform.

Following the completion of the stadium the city began to gain prominence. Many major football matches were held at the stadium in front of massive crowds. The first international match was held on the 20th November, 1927. The result was a 2-2 draw against Holland. Since then the German National Team has played 19 times at the stadium and only one of those matches resulted in a loss. Another notable match was the first postwar game which saw 1.FC Nuernberg beat 1.FC Kaiserslautern 2-1, in front of a crowd of 75,000.

One of the specialties of the Müngersdorfer stadion was the track meets for non-professional sportsmen. In 1929 there were over 38,000 partcipants. However in 1933 Jews were no longer allowed to participate. After the war the level of non-professional was never regained.

Recent matches of importance

In 2005 it was a venue for three first round games of the FIFA Confederations Cup including the opening match between Argentina and Tunisia.The game was won by Argentina 2-1.

The Müngersdorfer has been host to many important UEFA Cup matches.In the 1988 UEFA Cup, Bayer Leverkusen played FC Barcelona and Galatasaray played AS Monaco in the 1989 UEFA Cup.Borussia Moenchengladbach played both Arsenal and AS Monaco in the 1996 UEFA Cup.

Awards

In July of 2004 the RheinEnergie Stadion was given the Bronze medal for distinguished sporting and leisure facilities by the International Olympic Committee.

Renovation

There have been two renovations, the first from 1972 to 1975 and then again in 2002 to 2004.

In 1974 the World Cup was coming to West Germany and Cologne wanted be a host city. Their bid was approved and they soon began work on a new stadium that was to replace the now outdated Müngersdorfer Stadium. However the city was not able to provide the money needed for a stadium of the desired size. The original plan was for an 80,000 seat Arena, that was planned to have cost 23.5 Million Marks. However the total kept growing. In the end the if the stadium was to be completed the cost would have been 93.5 Million Marks. At the time the city was only able to provide an extra 6 Million Marks.

Following the World Cup, the city still wanted the stadium to be completed. Hence, on the 12th of November, 1975 a 61,000 seat Arena was inagurated with a match between 1.FC Köln and Fortuna Koln[1], FC winning 3-0.

The most recent renovation was completed in 2003. With the news of the prospect of bringing the World Cup back to Germany the city reacted. Building what is there today the RheinEnergie Stadion. Unlike the stadiums that came before it, there are no track and field facilities. This allows the spectators to be much closer to the pitch then they can be in a traditional multi-use stadium

Facilities

The capacity is 50,997 visitors during club matches and 46,134 for international games, when there are no standing spectators allowed. The entire field is lit with a floodlight system. In the north grandstand there is a museum dedicated to 1.FC Köln.

External dimensions

External links

• 1.FC Köln
• Stadium Guide
• A 3D Model of the Stadium
• The Stadium's Web Site

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This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.