Arena AufSchalke
Arena AufSchalke (German pronunciation: [aˈʁeːnaː ʔaʊfˈʃalkə]), currently known as Veltins-Arena (pronounced [ˈfɛltɪnsʔaˌʁeːnaː]) for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for FC Schalke 04.
Former names
Arena AufSchalke (2001–2005)
Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
302 Veltins Arena
FC Schalke 04
90
Ice hockey: 77,803 (7 May 2010, 2010 IIHF World Championship Opening Game)
Football: 62,271 (Regular sellout)
105 × 68 m
1998–2001
13 August 2001
€191 million
Hentrich, Petschnigg und Partner[1]
It hosted the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final and five matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a quarter-final and it will host four matches in Euro 2024. It has a capacity of 62,271 (standing and seated) for league matches and 54,740 (seated only) for international matches.[3] The stadium has a retractable roof and a retractable pitch. The naming rights to the stadium were sold on 1 July 2005 to German brewery Veltins.
History[edit]
Plans to construct a new stadium emerged in the late 1990s, as fans and managers sought to move out of the outdated Parkstadion, and create a thoroughly modern multifunctional arena. Following Schalke 04's historic 1997 victory in the UEFA Cup, and the club's upcoming 100th anniversary in 2004, the contract to construct a €186 million stadium was given in 1998 to the German construction firm HBM.
The Veltins-Arena features a Teflon-coated fiberglass canvas retractable roof, which spans the entire stadium. The roof is supported by a rectangular truss that is suspended above the field, which is in turn connected to the main building via 24 steel pylons. The center of the roof can be opened into two halves, allowing for an opened or covered stadium, depending on weather and event. To reduce the exterior noise of up to 105 decibels during concerts, a second layer of Teflon-coated fiberglass canvas was added over the first, creating a dampening air cushion. Hanging 25 metres (82 ft) over the center of the pitch are four video screens, each with a surface area of 35 square metres (380 sq ft). The centrally suspended scoreboard, similar to those found inside indoor sports arenas, was the first of its kind in football stadium, and has since been copied in the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt and the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf.
Like the Sapporo Dome in Japan, the State Farm Stadium and Allegiant Stadium in the U.S. and the GelreDome in the Netherlands, the Veltins-Arena features a slide-out pitch. Supported by a 11,400-tonne (11,200-long-ton; 12,600-short-ton) substructure, the playing field can be moved in and out of the stadium within four hours. This has several advantages:
Catering and venues[edit]
To provide for over 60,000 spectators, the Veltins-Arena is equipped with an abundance of catering facilities. With 15 small restaurants, 50 grilling stations and 35 cafés, the stadium can serve up to 2,500 kilograms (5,500 lb) of sausages, 7,000 pretzels, and 1,000 square metres (11,000 sq ft) of pizza in one day. These catering areas are connected to a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) long beer-line, supplying them with roughly 52,000 litres (11,000 imp gal; 14,000 US gal) of beer per match day.
