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Known
nationwide as the Bundesliga’s opera house, the Westfalenstadion
was originally built for the 1974 FIFA World CupTM. Borussia
Dortmund play their home games here, practically always in
front of sell-out crowds. Some 25,000 of these fans roar on
their beloved Borussia from the famous South Stand terraces,
an awesome and fearful prospect for the visiting team. No
fewer than 1.4 million spectators thronged to Germany's biggest
stadium in 2004-5, making an average of over 77,000 and a
Bundesliga and European record.
In November 2001, the authorities resolved to join up the
four separate stands, increasing the all-seat capacity to
around 67,000. Crucially, the design carefully allows proper
ventilation for the pitch. This temple of football on Strobelallee
features more than 3,500 food service points, another best-in-class
figure for the Bundesliga. This phase of the reconstruction
project was completed in late summer 2003.
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A further modernisation programme took place in summer 2005.
The seats in the lower tier were equipped with back rests
and a new VIP section opened. An electronic access control
system was installed and began operations, together with refurbishment
of the dressing room and team zones.
Eight 62-metre-high bright yellow support pylons represent
a distinctive, colourful landmark on the Dortmund skyline.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the steel exterior structure will
be visible from miles away as visitors from all over the globe
flock to the Westfalenstadion, a venue for one of the semi-finals.
Planning for what was to become one of the world's great
stadiums began in the early 1960s. An initial proposal to
expand the venerable "Rote Erde" stadium was abandoned
in 1965 in favour of constructing a so-called twin stadium
on the site next to the "Rote Erde". Costs were
halved by the novel concept of modular construction involving
pre-cast building elements.
Some 50,000 cubic metres of earth were excavated, as bomb
disposal teams uncovered, defused and removed 34 Second World
War bombs. Surveying the finished product, then Germany boss
Helmut Schön was overwhelmed at what he saw: "There's
only one football stadium better than this in the whole world,
the Azteca in Mexico City." Quipped Cologne midfielder
Wolfgang Overath: "There's just one thing wrong with
it - it's not in Cologne."
Dortmund has hosted outstanding sporting events (1989 world
table tennis championship, 1989 German swimming championship,
1990 DJK national sports festival, and the 28th German Gymnastics
Meeting in 1990), and is the location of major annual international
events such as the Dortmund Six Day Race, the International
Riding and Jumping Competition and the DJV Track and Field
Meeting.
Sports are enormously popular among the population of Dortmund:
More than 135,000 sports activists are organized in 600 sports
clubs. The outstanding club in the football sector is 1997
UEFA Champions League winner and 1997 Cup winner Borussia
Dortmund.
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