Veltins-Arena
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| Full name | Veltins-Arena |
|---|---|
| Former names | Arena AufSchalke FIFA World Cup Stadium, Gelsenkirchen (2006 FIFA World Cup) |
| Location | Gelsenkirchen, Germany |
| Owner | Schalke 04 |
| Operator | Schalke 04 |
| Executive suites | 90 |
| Capacity | 62,271 (League Matches), 54,740 (International Matches) |
| Record attendance |
Ice hockey: 77,803 7 May 2010 2010 IIHF World Championship Opening Game |
| Field size | 105 × 68 m |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1998–2001 |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Construction cost | € 191 million |
| Architect | Hentrich, Petschnigg und Partner |
| Tenants | |
| Schalke 04 | |
Veltins-Arena (German pronunciation: [ˈfɛltɪnsʔaˌʁeːnaː]; originally Arena AufSchalke [ʔaˌʁeːnaː ʔaʊfˈʃalkə]) is a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened in 2001, as the new home ground for German Bundesliga club Schalke 04.
It hosted the 2004 UEFA Champions League final and 5 matches in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a quarter-final. It has a league capacity of 62,271 (standing and seated) and an international capacity of 54,740 (seated only). The stadium has a retractable roof and a retractable pitch. The naming rights to the stadium were sold on 1 July 2005 to the German brewery Veltins.
Plans to construct a new stadium emerged in the late 1990s, as fans and managers sought to move out of the outdated Parkstadion, and create a thoroughly modern multifunctional arena.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 site chosen for Schalke 04's new stadium is in the direct vicinity of the old Parkstadion, on an extensive piece of club owned property known as the "Berger Feld". Unfortunately, two mine shafts of the "Consolidation" and "Hugo" coal-mines run directly beneath this field at a depth of 800 m. These shafts (in use until 2000) would have caused unwanted shifts and tensions that could have compromised the structural integrity of the stadium. To avoid this, the main axis was rotated from the classic North-South arrangement to a Northeast-Southwest alignment, making the arena parallel to the mines.
The Veltins-Arena was created as a multi-functional arena of two tiers that completely surround the playing field. These allow for a league capacity of 62,271 spectators (standing and seated) and an international capacity of 54,740. For league matches, the North stand is left as standing rows (capacity: 16,307) to accommodate the Schalke 04 fans, while for international matches, these are converted to seats (capacity: 8,600). The 72 VIP lounges form a ring around the entire stadium, separating the first tier from the second tier. On the main Western grandstand, the VIP capacity is increased by a second level of lounges directly beneath the main belt.
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