Zentralstadion (1956)

Central Stadium (German: Zentralstadion German pronunciation: [tsɛnˈtra:lˈʃta:di̯ɔn]) was a stadium with a capacity of 120,000 in Leipzig which was initially used for matches of SC Rotation Leipzig. It was renovated in 2004 and renamed the Red Bull Arena.

Zentralstadion
Full nameZentralstadion
Former namesFrankfurter Wiesen
Stadion der Hunderttausend
Sportforum Leipzig[1]
LocationLeipzig, Germany
Coordinates51°20′44.86″N 12°20′53.59″E
OwnerGerman Democratic Republic
OperatorLeipzig
Capacity120,000[2]
Record attendance100,000 (SC Rotation Leipzig - SC Lokomotive Leipzig, 9 September 1956)
Construction
Built4 March 1955 (1955-03-04)
Opened4 August 1956 (1956-08-04)
Renovated2004 as Red Bull Arena
Closed2000
DemolishedSeats, fences and floodlights only
Construction cost9mio USD
Architect
  • Werner March (sketch)
  • Eitel Jackowski (complete)
  • Heinz Schütze (complete)[1]
  • Rudolf Lossner (buildings)[3]
Project managerWalter Ulbricht
Tenants
Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund
DHFK Leipzig
Trade Sports- Associations of sports societies in the GDR

About 1.5 million cubic metres of debris from the World War II bombing of Leipzig was used in the stadium's construction. Its name derives from the Soviet "Central Stadium", a title used throughout the Eastern Bloc.

Background

After the 1896 Summer Olympics, the city of Leipzig begun to plan a stadium. The Zentralstadion was built first for the sports students in the Sportforum Leipzig, with a capacity of 100,000. Next to it was an Olympic-style swimming stadium. After the sports university, rowing channel and the swimming stadium were established, plans were made for a new stadium downtown; Leipzig wanted to be awarded the Olympic Games. Blueprints by architect Werner March, the architect of Berlin's Olympiastadion, were used. Finishing the plan took 15 months, with 180,000 volunteers. Walter Ulbricht called the stadium "Stadion der Hunderttausend" (Stadium of 100,000), and made it the home of the German Gym and Sports Celebrations.[4][5][6][7][8]

The first visiting soccer teams were Honved Budapest and 1.FC Kaiserslautern, followed by the Friedensfahrt. The semifinal match of the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup was played there.[9] Until 1987, the stadium was well-maintined. Brighter floodlights were installed in 1977; however, neighboring houses (including the Waldstraßen District) experienced brownouts during matches. It remains the best-attended German stadium, drawing 80,000 to 120,000 spectators for East German national-team matches.

Construction

Part of Sports Forum Leipzig

Volunteers moving earth for the stadium in 1952

After the War of the Fourth Coalition, educators Ernst Moritz Arndt and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn wanted German national sports celebrations to train the Lützow Free Corps to defend against the French.[10] Leipzig became one of the wealthiest cities in Germany, with a number of sports festivals; the only larger sports gathering was the 1936 Summer Olympics. Leader Walter Ulbricht wanted a national-class stadium to commemorate the 100,000 fallen soldiers in the Battle of Leipzig.[11]

Free German Youth regional leader Heinz Haferkorn was tasked with finding 200 volunteers per day,[12] and work on the stadium began on August 2, 1955. To save money, debris from the 1945 bombings was used. Its architect of record was Karl Souradny, who only completed the ground drawings and never visited the site.[12] A total of 180,000 volunteers worked for 735,992 hours on the stadium, which cost M28 million (DM5.6 million).[3] A small train brought debris to the stadium, which was mixed with ash, soil and water and compressed into bricks.[13]

Replacement

In 1990, due to riots in other European countries and in Leipzig's Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark, access to Zentralstadion was banned to reduce further rioting.[14] The bell in the stadium's Werner Seelenbinder Tower was silenced.[15]

After German reunification, the stadium was underused; none of Leipzig's football clubs played in the Bundesliga, Germany's top soccer league. Due to the rising maintenance costs, the city decided to build a smaller, soccer-only stadium in 1997. The Red Bull Arena, with a capacity of under 45,000, was built inside the old stadium.

According to critics, Berlin's similar-size Olympiastadion was renovated at the same time and the Zentralstadion could have been saved. Germany won the right to host the 2006 Fifa World Cup in 2000, prompting renovation of many German soccer-specific stadiums (including the Olympiastadion). There were up to 70,000 ticket requests for later World Cup games at the Red Bull Arena, questioning the wisdom of reducing stadium capacity.

National-team international matches

Between 1957 and 2004, all matches were broadcast by the Deutscher Fernsehfunk and (later) Eurosport; they had a total attendance of 2,812,000. The Soviet Union national football team was the most-frequent visitor. Average attendance (excluding club matches, Spartakiade and the East German Sports Festivals) was 63,909. The East Germany national football team won 20 matches, with 13 draws and 10 losses. Twenty-one matches were qualifiers, and 23 were exhibition matches.

Date Home Final (and halftime) score Visitor Type Attendance
19 May 1957East Germany2-1 (1-1) Goals:Charles (WAL) 6', Wirth (GDR) 21', Tröger (GDR) 61′Wales1958 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Nikolay Latyshev (Soviet Union)105,000[16]
27 October 1957East Germany1-4 (1-3) Goals: Kraus (TCH) 4′, Moravčík (TCH) 23', Müller (GDR) 23′, Novák (TCH) 43', Kraus (TCH) 88′Czechoslovakia1958 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)110,000[17]
9 November 1957Poland0-2 (0-1) Goals: Streltsov (URS) 31′, Fiedosov (URS) 75′Soviet Union1958 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Clough John Harold (England)110,000[18][19]
14 September 1958East Germany3-2 (1-1) Goals: Schröter (GDR) 25′, Penalty Constantin (ROU) 27′, Penalty Assmy (GDR) 57′, Ene (ROU) 61′, Wirth (GDR) 76′RomaniaExhibition match – Referee: Nikolai Balakin (Soviet Union60,000
2 November 1958East Germany4-1 (2-1) Goals: Assmy (GDR) 4′, Müller (GDR) 12′, Hennum (NOR) 42′, Schröter (GDR) 56′, Müller (GDR) 65′NorwayExhibition match – Referee: Antonín Vrbovec (Czechoslovakia)60,000[20]
12 August 1959East Germany2-1 (2-0) Goals: Schröter (GDR) 3′, Franz (GDR) 44′, Kadraba (TCH) 53′CzechoslovakiaExhibition match – Referee: Nikolai Latychev (USSR)100,000[18][21]
17 August 1960East Germany0-1 (0-0) Goals: Ponedelnik (URS) 75′USSRExhibition match – Referee: Josef Stoll (Austria)70,000[22]
14 May 1961East Germany1-1 (0-0) Goals: Groot (NED) 63′, Erler (GDR) 80′Netherlands1962 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Carl Jorgensen (Denmark)70,000[23]
14 May 1962East Germany4-1 (2-1) Goals: Schröter (GDR) 8′, Madsen (DEN) 20′, Ducke (GDR) 29′, Schröter (GDR) 56′, Schröter (GDR) 88′DenmarkExhibition match – Referee: Józef Kowal (Poland)30,000[24]
14 May 1963East Germany2-2 (0-2) Goals: Zambata (YUG) 20′, Jerković (YUG) 43′, Wirth (GDR) 45′, Schröter (GDR) 52′YugoslaviaExhibition match – Referee: Václav Korelus (Czechoslovakia)35,000[25][26]
23 May 1964East Germany1-1USSRExhibition match80,000
23 May 1965East Germany1-1 (1-1) Goals: Vogel (GDR) 17′, Bene (HUN) 28′Hungary1966 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Fredrik Johansson (Sweden)110,000[27]
31 October 1965East Germany1-0 (1-0) Goals: Nöldner (GDR) 1′Austria1966 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Samuel Carswell (Northern Ireland)95,000
27 April 1966East Germany4-1 (3-1) Goals: Ducke (GDR) 2′, Nöldner (GDR) 23′, Kindvall (SWE) 43′, Frenzel (GDR) 57′SwedenExhibition match – Referee: Laurens van Ravens (Netherlands)50,000[28]
2 July 1966East Germany5-2 (2-0) Goals: Nöldner (GDR) 3′, Frenzel (GDR) 44′, Tobar (CHI) 62′, Vogel (GDR) 72′, Fräßdorf (GDR) 79′, Marcos (CHI) 81′, Geisler (GDR) 86′ChileExhibition match – Referee: Per Engblom (Finland)45,000[29]
5 April 1967East Germany4-3 (0-2) Goals: Mulder (NED) 10′, Keizer (NED) 12′, Vogel (GDR) 50′, Frenzel (GDR) 62′, Keizer (NED) 65′, Frenzel (GDR) 69′, Frenzel (GDR) 85′NetherlandsUEFA Euro 1968 qualifying – Referee: Hannes Sigurðsson (Iceland)40,000[30]
11 October 1967East Germany3-2 (1-2) Goals: Dyreborg (DEN) 25′, Körner (GDR) 35′, Søndergaard (DEN) 38′, Pankau (GDR) 59′, Pankau (GDR) 73′DenmarkUEFA Euro 1968 qualifying – Referee: Ryszard Banasiuk (Poland)25,000[31]
29 October 1967East Germany1-0 (0-0) Goals: Frenzel (GDR) 51′HungaryUEFA Euro 1968 qualifying – Referee: Robert Helies (France)110,000[32]
24 April 1968East Germany3-235,000
25 July 1969East Germany2-2 (1-1) Goals: Löwe (GDR) 6′, Puzach (URS) 35′, Khmelnytskyi (URS) 59′, Frenzel (GDR) 87′Soviet UnionExhibition match – Referee: Gyula Emsberger (Hungary)90,000[33]
9 May 1971East Germany1-2 (0-2) Goals: Filipović (YUG) 11′, Džajić (YUG) 19′, Puzach (YUG) 35′, Löwe (GDR) 70′YugoslaviaUEFA Euro 1972 qualifying – Referee: Paul Schiller (Austria)100,000[34]
18 September 1971East Germany1-1 (0-0) Goals: Borja (MEX) 50′, Löwe (GDR) 80′MexicoExhibition match – Referee: Gyula Emsberger (Hungary)20,000[35]
27 May 1972East Germany1-0 (0-0) Goals: Irmscher (GDR) 81′UruguayExhibition match – Referee: Bohumil Smejkal (Czechoslovakia)20,000[36]
26 March 1973East Germany2-0RomaniaExhibition match95,000[37]
29 May 1974East Germany1-1 (0-0) Goals: Streich (GDR) 66', Channon (GDR) 68'EnglandExhibition match – Referee: György Müncz (Hungary)100,000[38][39]
7 December 1974East Germany0-0BelgiumUEFA Euro 1976 qualifying – Referee: Sergio Gonella (Italy)35,000

[40]

12 October 1975East Germany2-1 (0-0)Goals: Bathenay (FRA) 50′, Streich (GDR) 55′, Vogel (GDR) 77′FranceUEFA Euro 1976 qualifying – Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)35,000

[41][42]

7 April 1976East Germany0-0Czechoslovakia1976 Olympic qualifier – Referee: Vladimir Rudnev (USSR)45,000[43]
28 July 1977East Germany2-1 (1-1) Goals: Häfner (GDR) 8', Bubnov (USSR) 22', Sparwasser (GDR) 90'Soviet UnionExhibition match – Referee: Marian Kuston (Poland)95,000[44]
12 October 1977East Germany]]1-1 (0-1) Goals: Hattenberger (AUT) 43', Löwe (GDR) 50'Austria]]1978 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Ian Foote (Scotland)100,000[45]
4 April 1978East Germany0-1 (0-0) Goals: Åslund (SWE) 75'SwedenExhibition match – Referee: Bogdan Dotchev (Bulgaria)25,000[46]
6 September 1978East Germany2-1 (1-0) Goals: Pommerenke (GDR) 20', Eigendorf (GDR) 66', Ondruš (TCH) 84'CzechoslovakiaExhibition match – Referee: Franz Wöhrer (Austria)15,000[47]
18 April 1979East Germany2-1 (0-1) Goals: Boniek (POL) 7', Streich (GDR) 50', Lindemann (GDR) 63'PolandUEFA Euro 1980 qualifying – Referee: Azim Zade (USSR)55,000[48]
21 November 1979East Germany2-3 (2-1) Goals: Schnuphase (GDR) 17', Streich (GDR) 33', Thijssen (NED) 45', Kist (NED) 50', Kerkhof (NED) 67'NetherlandsUEFA Euro 1980 qualifying – Referee: António Garrido (Portugal)100,000[49][50]
16 April 1980East Germany2-0 (0-0) Goals: Weber (GDR) 64', Streich (GDR) 69'GreeceExhibition match – Referee: Torben Månsson (Denmark)20,000[51]
15 October 1980East Germany0-0SpainExhibition match – Referee: Jan Veverka (Czechoslovakia)30,000[52]
10 October 1981East Germany2-3 (0-2) Goals: Szarmach (POL) 2', Smolarek (POL) 5', Schnuphase (GDR) 53', Smolarek (POL) 62', Streich (GDR) 63'Poland1982 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Augusto Lamo Castillo (Spain)85,000[53][54]
14 April 1982East Germany1-0 (1-0) Goal: Hause (GDR) 20'ItalyExhibition match – Referee: Dusan Krchnak (Czechoslovakia)28,000[55][56]
30 March 1983East Germany1-2 (0-1) Goals: Elst (BEL) 35', Vandenbergh (BEL) 70', Streich (GDR) 82'BelgiumUEFA Euro 1984 qualifying Group 1 – Referee: John Carpenter (Ireland)75,000[57]
26 June 1983East Germany1-3 (1-2) Goals: Blokhin (URS) 10', Streich (GDR) 24', Oganesyan (URS) 35', Yevtushenko (URS) 64'Soviet UnionExhibition match – Referee: Károly Palotai (Hungary)70,000[58]
20 October 1984East Germany2-3 (1-1) Goals: Glowatzky (GDR) 11', Baždarević (YUG) 30', Vokri (YUG) 48', Ernst (GDR) 59', Šestić (YUG) 80'Yugoslavia1986 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Horst Brummeier (Austria)63,000[59]
11 September 1985East Germany2-0 (0-0) Goals: Ernst (GDR) 53', Kreer (GDR) 81'France1986 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Pietro D'Elia (Italy)78,000[60][61]
28 July 1987East Germany0-0HungaryExhibition match – Referee: Jan Damgaard (Denmark)71,000[62]
20 May 1989East Germany1-1 (0-1) Goals: Polster (AUT) 3', Kirsten (GDR) 86'Austria1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – Referee: Alphonse Constantin (Belgium)22,000[63]

See also

References

  1. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 20. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  2. "2. 1956 Leipzig vor 120000 Zuschauern /// FussballFanSeiten.de".
  3. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 25. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  4. torkrue (4 March 2011). "Musikschau Leipzig 1987 Teil 1" via YouTube.
  5. torkrue (4 March 2011). "Musikschau Leipzig 1969" via YouTube.
  6. "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  7. WTFmode1 (27 March 2011). "VI Turn und Sportfest der DDR 1977 (Final Part only)" via YouTube.
  8. "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  9. "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  10. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 9. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  11. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. pp. 8–18. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  12. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 23. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  13. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 26. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  14. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 134. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  15. Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 28. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  16. "Historische Highlights Im Alten Zentralstadion Leipzig" (in German). 4 November 2014.
  17. Werner Skrentny: Das grosse Buch der deutschen Fußballstadien. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 978-3-89533-668-3.
  18. "Leipziger Fußballverband - Auswahl-Länderspiele in Leipzig". www.leipziger-fussballverband.de.
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  27. "DDR gegen Ungarn - WM 1966 - Qualifikation". Fussballdaten.
  28. "DDR gegen Schweden - Freundschaftsspiele 1966". Fussballdaten.
  29. "DDR gegen Chile - Freundschaftsspiele 1966". Fussballdaten.
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  31. uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 1968 - Geschichte - German Dem. Rep.-Dänemark". Uefa.com.
  32. uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 1968 - Geschichte - German Dem. Rep.-Ungarn". Uefa.com.
  33. "DDR gegen UdSSR - Freundschaftsspiele 1969". Fussballdaten.
  34. uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 1972 - Geschichte - German Dem. Rep.-Serbien". Uefa.com.
  35. "DDR - Mexiko - 1:1 - 18.09.1971 - Freundschaft - Der direkte Vergleich". www.ran.de.
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  38. "DDR v England 29th May 1974 Joachim Streich" (in German). Youtube. June 6, 2012.
  39. "Freundschaft 1974 » Mai » DDR - England 1:1". www.weltfussball.de/ (in German).
  40. UEFA, Anonym (27 June 2012). "Geschichte Vorrunde der Qualifizierung UEFA Europameisterschaft 1976" [Qualifying round for the UEFA European Cup 1976] (in German).
  41. UEFA, Anonym (27 June 2012). "Geschichte Vorrunde der Qualifizierung UEFA Europameisterschaft 1976" [Qualifying round for the UEFA European Cup 1976] (in German).
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  43. Fußballdaten.de. "Die Spielstatistik DDR - Tschechien" [The soccer data GDR vs. Czechoslovakia] (in German).
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  46. weltfussball.de. "Fußballländerspiele 1978" [Soccer international matches 1978] (in German).
  47. http://www.ran.de/, RAN. "Direkter Vergleich DDR gegen CSSR" [East Germany vs. Czechoslovakia] (in German).
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  49. Youtube. "EM 80 Qualifier DDR v Holland 21st NOV 1979" [GDR vs. Netherlands, UEFA Qualifying 1980] (in German).
  50. Youtube. "Vorrunde (Gruppe 4)" [UEFA Qualifier 1980] (in German).
  51. Weltfußball. "Direckter Vergleich DDR gegen GRE" [GDR vs. Greece, 1980] (in German).
  52. Fußballdaten. "Direkter Vergleich DDR gegen Spanien" [GDR vs. Spain, 1980] (in German).
  53. Youtube (March 2011). "Fußball WM 1982 Qualifikation: DDR - Polen 2:3" [Soccer World Cup Qualification 1982, GDR vs. Poland] (in German).
  54. Weltfußball (2010). "WM-Quali. Europa 1980/1981 » Gruppe 7 » DDR - Polen 2:3" [Soccer World Cup Qualification 1982, GDR vs. Poland] (in German).
  55. Youtube (March 2011). "Fußball-Länderspiel 1982: DDR - Italien 1:0" [Soccer national match GDR vs Italy 1:0] (in German).
  56. Fußballdaten.de (2010). "Spielstatistik DDR gegen Italien 1982 1:0" [Match date GDR versus Italy 1:0 in 1982] (in German).
  57. Weltfußball (2010). "UEFA.com > UEFA EURO > 1984 > Spiele > Vorrunde > German Dem. Rep.-Belgien" [UEFA.com > UEFA EURO > 1984 > Matches > Qualifying Round> German Dem. Rep.-Belgium] (in German).
  58. Weltfußball (2010). "Freundschaft 1983 Juli DDR - UdSSR 1:3" (in German).
  59. Weltfußball (2010). "WM 86 Qualifier DDR v Yugoslavia 20th OCT 1984".
  60. Weltfußball (2010). "WM 86 Qualifier DDR v France 11 SEP 1985".
  61. Youtube (6 December 2011). "Fußball-WM 1986 Qualifikation: DDR - Frankreich 2:0" [WC 1986 Qualification: GDR vs. France 2:0].
  62. Weltfußball (2010). "Freundschaft 1987 » Juli » DDR - Ungarn 0:0" [Exhibition match 1987 » July » GDR - Hungary 0:0] (in German).
  63. Youtube (2010). "WM 90 Qualifier DDR vs. Austria 20 May 1989".

Notes

Further reading

  • Andreas Debski; Michael Kraske; Ingolf Rackwitz (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig. Vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel (in German). Das Neue Berlin. p. 191. ISBN 978-3360012807.
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