BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald is a

football stadium Football stadium may refer to: * A stadium used in gridiron football, association football or Australian rules football * A soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sp ...

Sandhausen Sandhausen () is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of Heidelberg. Geography Location Sandhausen belongs to the Rhein-Neckar Metropolitan region. It is known for its sand ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Situated in a small patch of forest near the Sandhausen town limits, it is the home stadium of local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The club's greatest success ...

. The stadium is owned by the club.

History

The stadium was opened in 1951 and was originally equipped with a clay pitch. A grass pitch was installed in 1961. The structure underwent expansion in 1987/88, when a roofed all-seater main stand was added. Further renovation works were conducted in 2001 with the addition of floodlights and in 2008 with several modifications to meet standards for the 3. Liga. These included adding a temporary stand with a capacity of 2,500, installation of a video scoreboard, expansion of press and police facilities and the building of a VIP house. Afterwards, Hardtwaldstadion could hold 10,231 spectators. Due to the promotion of the team to 2. Bundesliga, the stadium received some more improvements during 2012 summer break. Among these were

under-soil heating Under-soil heating is a method used in various sports stadia (with a grass surface) which heats the underside of the pitch to avoid any elements from bad weather, such as snow and ice, from building up and ultimately helps the club avoid having to ...

, a platform for TV-cameras as well as two new stands, which raised the capacity to about 12.100 spectators. If the team manages to establish itself in 2nd Liga, another two stands have to be added, backing the western goal area and the southern area, to extend the capacity to about 15.000.Christoph Moll
Das Hardtwaldstadion wird zur Fussballarena.
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 5. May 2012, checked 20. August 2012. (german)Galerie: Sandhausener Hardtwaldstadion wird ausgebaut
. Stadionwelt.de, 4. June 2012, checked 20. August 2012. (german)Wendelin Hübner

Spiegel Online, 3. August 2012, checked 20. August 2012. (german)

External links

(German)

References

{{2. Bundesliga venues Football venues in Germany Sports venues in Baden-Württemberg SV Sandhausen Sports venues completed in 1951