Red Bull Arena
History of the former "Zentralstadium"
Plans for Leipzig's Central Stadium were presented as early as 1939 by architect Werner March who had also designed the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. World War II, however prevented the implementation of the design project.
In part based on these early plans, an athletics and soccer stadium and auxiliary facilities were built between 1954 and 1956.
Figures relating to the old stadium:
- capacity: 100,000 spectators
- construction time: 15 months
- 750,000 man-hours of unpaid labour
- height of the wall built from rubble of buildings destroyed during the war: 23 metres
- venue for more than:
- 50 international matches
- 50 UEFA Cup soccer matches
- 26 major national and international athletics competitions
- 7 athletics and sports festivals, including the 1st Turnfest (2002)
Construction of the new Stadium
Disused in its original condition as of 1994. The foundation stone for the new stadium was laid in 2000 in a joint ceremony on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the German Soccer Federation (DFB) in Leipzig.
The stadium is operated by "Zentralstadion Leipzig" Betreibergesellschaft mbH (ZSL).
Figures relating to the new stadium:
- approx. 45,000 sheltered seats
- modern equipment to FIFA requirements
- overall project costs: 88.5 million euros
- venue for matches of the Soccer FIFA World Cup 2006 and the Confederations Cup 2005
Renaming to Red Bull Arena
On the 24th of July 2010 the Stadium was officially renamed to Red Bull Arena. The event was accompanied by an exhibition match of RB Leipzig e.V. versus FC Schalke 04 e.V. with 21.566 spectators.
Originally designed to meet the requirements of the FIFA World Cup 2006, the stadium offers perfect conditions for football matches and concerts alike. Big names who sold out the stadium were AC/DC, Paul McCartney and Genesis.
The optical highlight of the new Red Bull Arena is the spectacular roof construction with its integrated flood-light facility. A perfectly tuned sound system ensures an outstanding acoustic. An innovative network of emergency escape routes ensures that little extra comfort and safety of its spectators.