RheinEnergieStadion

The RheinEnergieStadion is the major stadium in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is primarily used for football. It was built on the site of the two previous Müngersdorfer Stadiums. It is the home of the local Bundesliga team, 1. FC Köln, and of the local NFL Europa team, the Cologne Centurions. The stadium is one of the 12 hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Stadium’s name comes from a contract with the local power supplier RheinEnergie AG that will run out in 2009.

History

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the fortifications of Cologne were removed, thus allowing for the building of a new structure in the surrounding area. The new construction enabled the city to create 15,000 jobs. The new stadium was called the Müngersdorfer Stadion or the Kölner Stadion. This allowed Cologne not only to help stabilize the country but also to gain prestige and economic benefits for the city. The cost was tallied at 47.4 million Deutsche Mark but was omitted with the 1923 currency reform.

Following the completion of the stadium the city began to rise to prominence. Many major football matches were held at the stadium in front of huge crowds. The first international match was held on 20 November 1927, when the Germany national football team drew 2-2 with the Netherlands. Since then, the Germany team has played 19 times at the stadium and only one of those matches resulted in a loss. Another notable match was the first post-war game, which saw 1. FC Nürnberg beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2-1, in front of a crowd of 75,000.

One of the specialties of the Müngersdorfer Stadion was the track meets for non-professional sportsmen. In 1929 there were over 38,000 participants. However, in 1933 Jews were no longer allowed to take part. After the war the level of non-professional was never regained.

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1. FC Köln official website
Deutscher Fußball-Bund
wikipedia entry
Football Ringtones
Bet with Paddy Power

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