Schalke - Club Formed in 1904

Arena AufSchalke is a stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany which opened in 2001 as the new home for the Bundesliga football club FC Schalke 04. For Bundesliga matches, it has a capacity of 61,266, with about 45,000 seated. The stadium, which hosted the UEFA Champions League final in 2004, is a venue for the 2006 World Cup. It also served as the temporary home of the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe while their normal home, the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, was being renovated. In July 2005, the stadium's name will change to Veltins Arena due to a naming rights deal with a German brewery.

This is one of the most innovative stadiums built in recent years. It has a retractable roof, and features a grass pitch that slides in and out of the stadium as needed. The sliding pitch solves the problem of keeping grass alive within a domed stadium, and also allows the stadium to be used for non-sporting events such as concerts without damaging the pitch. It also well known for its 5 km long beer pipeline.

Costs: 358 million German Marks
Finished in 2001
Capacity: 62,000 (17,000 standing places)

Schalke Football News
Schalke Match Reports

Website: http://www.werder-online.de

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