VeltinsArena - Gelsenkirchen

Around three in the afternoon the soul awakes

Let’s start by getting rid of any misunderstandings: Veltins-Arena is not simply a football stadium. It is more. It is a chapel and concert hall of the football fans. It has the longest beer pipeline in Germany and the largest video cube in Europe. It has a convertible roof and a sliding pitch. But even more important than all these superlatives: the arena has a soul. And it usually awakens on Saturday afternoon around three o’clock. That is when the seats fill with blue & white clad football fans. Königsblau (Royal Blue), the followers of the richly traditional German football league team FC Schalke 04. 61,490 spectators are usually present at league matches, no more can get in. “Schaaaalke, Schaaaalke“ then booms through the arena – at the breathtaking volume of 103 decibel. This is due to the all round glas fibre roof which when closed, provides spectators with cover and acoustics similar to a hall. Football, say the experts, is a religion in Schalke. Names such as Stan Libuda or Ernst Kuzorra are the admired idols of several generations in Germany’s “Ruhrgebiet” or Rhine Region. Rudi Assauer also has a great past on the grass – but was even more important for Schalke 04 as the manager and creator of the arena. He was the driving force behind the stadium construction. “Veltins-Arena is rightly considered to be the finest in Europe. We are proud that we provided this project on our own“, he says. Indeed – the arena is already the new cult temple for the fans. The Schalke fans quickly let the new stadium into their hearts. The reason: Königsblau heroes, international stars and well known Bundesliga footballers are very close to the fans – as against in the old park stadium – almost close enough to touch. The stands directly border the playing field - no safety fence blocks the view. And despite this, the stadium is safe: 72 video cameras and around 1,500 security people monitor what goes on. “Fence free”, says Peter Peters, Managing Director of Schalke 04, “can be compared to a clean toilet. The people are much less inclined to misbehave. The higher the standards, the more careful the fans are.” The ticket system is also modern. A chip card replaces the bits of paper which up to now entitled people to enter all the matches. At the same time, it is the method of payment: whether Bratwurst, fan scarf or cappuccino in the Café Kuzorra – the so-called “Knappen Card” is also intended to replace cash in the arena. Apparently there are people outside of Gelsenkirchen-Schalke who are not interested in football. Nevertheless, most are impressed by the structure in the north of Gelsenkirchen. For example, by its construction: in only 34 months, HBM according to a concept of HBG Special Projects constructed an arena, to date unique in Germany, on a disused mining area. For this, 1.2 million tons of tailings, a rest product of coal mining, had to be tipped to form an artificial hill directly next to the old Gelsenkirchen Park stadium. The engineers drilled piles to a depth of up to 22 metres. There was no easier way. Because the mining in the area causes subsidence on the earth surface, the experts first had to specify the parameters the designers needed to calculate and design the load bearing structure. This is why the arena is one of the highest elevations in Gelsenkirchen. The 143 million Euro stadium was completed in August 2001. The stadium has a gigantic “drawer”: The grass pitch can be automatically moved in and out. 400 concrete feet beneath the playing field then slide over 16 Teflon coated rails. 300 metres outside to ventilate and 300 metres back in – is costs 13,000 Euros each time and takes approximately four hours. The sliding rails then have to be cleaned, waxed and oiled each time. The playing field has to be disconnected from the pitch heating and irrigation. Only the Dutch town of Arnheim, where HBM - who was also involved and holds a patent on this technique - has a comparable construction. In future, no Schalke home match will have to be cancelled due to bad weather conditions affecting the pitch. Technical Director Ulrich Dargel simply closes the roof. The 560 ton, transparent construction made of glass fibre and steel can be closed within 30 minutes. By the way, this model is not a sliding roof, the construction moves on rollers. Roof and “drawer” – this multi-functionality is the secret of Veltins-Arena’s success. The football stadium can be converted into a concert or congress hall in just a few hours. Musicals, political party conferences, TV shows, shareholders’ meetings or boxing matches can take place in the arena, while couples marry – in blue and white of course - in the club’s own chapel in the catacombs of the stadium. And the arena has yet another highlight: The football world championship 2006 in Germany. Veltins-Arena was one of the match locations and saw three group games as well as the penalty-thriller England vs. Portugal (1:3). Very much to the pleasure not only of the enthusiastic fans, but also of FIFA President Sepp Blatter: “It would have been a disgrace if no world cup matches were played in the Veltins-Arena.“ And it doesn’t matter whether it’s the football world cup, a biathlon race or a Robbie Williams concert: Those responsible for the construction which was financed completely from private funds are counting on the special experiential character of this site and the arena’s excellent infrastructure: For example, beer is available at almost every corner. The catacombs are home to tanks with 48,000 litres of beer. From there, the fans’ favourite drink is pumped along an almost nine kilometre long pipeline through the stadium to the sales stalls. Of course this catering concept became a huge success. If you’re afraid of missing the most important moments of an event while standing in the queue, don’t worry: more than 500 monitors have been installed in the arena, which transmit the event live even to the corridors behind the stands.