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Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
The new-look Westfalenstadion makes
its UEFA Champions League debut in
the quarter-final tie against AJ Auxerre.
Two years of Bundesliga success
prompted the German club to look to
the future and invest heavily in adding
extra tiers to two stands, adding over
12,000 seats and bringing the stadi
um's capacity to 56,000.
The fans - and the players themselves -
have long-since rated the Westfalen
stadion as one of the best in Europe.
The stands are close enough to the
pitch to create a real footballing at
mosphere with 'wrap-around' sound
reminiscent of English grounds, while
parking space for over 9,000 vehicles
guarantees exeptionally easy access.
The current stadium was inaugurated
on 2 April 1974 when Borussia Dort
mund took on Schalke 04, the 76th edi
tion of this German classic. 15 days
later, Germany played a friendly against
Hungary to celebrate the 20th anniver
sary of the 3-2 win in the World Cup
final in Berne. This time, the Germans
win 5-0. On 14 June, the Westfalen
stadion made its World Cup debut with
the Scotland v Zaire game and
Holland's matches against Sweden,
Bulgaria and Brazil were watched by
sell-out crowds in the brandnew steel
and-concrete structure.
Until then, Borussia Dortmund had
played in the 30,000-capacity Rote
Erde (Red Earth) stadium, a traditional
stone structure which now lives in the
shadow of the West Stand and is used
for training and athletics. Both stadia
stand in the 70-hectare Westfalenpark
complex designed in 1925 and which
now includes the 23,000-capacity
Westfalenhalle, built as Europe's lar
gest indoor arena, and the famous
Helmut Körnig indoor athletics arena.
Ottmar Hitzfeld's team bowed out of
the 'old' Westfalenstadion with a 5-3
victory over Steaua Bucuresti. Maybe
it's too much to hope that the new-look
stadium's European baptism will provi
de another eight-goal spectacular.
Westfalenstadion, home of Borussia Dortmund.
PHOTO: AUBREY WASHINGTON EMPICS
