Red Bull Arena (; formerly Zentralstadion ), is a football facility located in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
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 ...
. It is the largest football stadium in the former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and has also hosted music concerts as well as football.
Opened in 2004, it is currently the home stadium for
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
club
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bu ...
, with
FC Sachsen Leipzig
FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from the Leutzsch district of Leipzig, Saxony. The club continued the traditions of BSG Chemie Leipzig. The club officially dissolved in 2011. Although several successor sides were established, onl ...
having previously used the stadium from its opening until 2009. Due to UEFA sponsorship regulations, the stadium is known as the RB Arena for European matches.
Background
In 1956, the first Zentralstadion opened, at the time it was one of the biggest stadiums in Europe being able to hold 100,000 spectators. Various Leipzig football teams used the venue as a home stadium, including VfB Leipzig (precursor to
1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig) at various points in the 20th century (including large-scale European matches in the 1970s and domestic football in the 1990s). However, over the years it fell into disuse and was costing the city too much to maintain. In 1997, the city of Leipzig decided to build a new stadium within the old stadium, a modern state of the art stadium only for
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 ...
. Construction of the new stadium took place from December 2000 to March 2004. A similar endeavor of constructing a new stadium within the confines of an historic stadium's exterior was completed in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
's
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...
, which similarly built a modern stadium while preserving the exterior of the original structure.
History
The Zentralstadion was the only stadium in the former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
to host games in the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
. It hosted four group matches and a round of 16 game in the tournament. A year earlier, it was also one of the venues for the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners ...
and hosted three matches of the tournament, including the third-place match. From 2005 to 2007, the Zentralstadion was host of the
German League Cup final.
FC Sachsen Leipzig
FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from the Leutzsch district of Leipzig, Saxony. The club continued the traditions of BSG Chemie Leipzig. The club officially dissolved in 2011. Although several successor sides were established, onl ...
used the stadium as a home ground from time to time between 2004 and 2007, however they moved back to their traditional home, the
Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark
Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark is a multi-use stadium in Leipzig, Germany. It is used as the stadium of BSG Chemie Leipzig (1997), BSG Chemie Leipzig matches. The capacity of the stadium is 4,999 spectators.
For the 2021 ELF season, inaugural season of th ...
at the start of the 2008–09 season.
In July 2009, energy drink manufacturer
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
took over the license of SSV Markranstädt and renamed the team
RasenBallsport Leipzig, in short RB Leipzig. From the outset, the new team outlined their wish to move into the tenant-less Zentralstadion and rename it the "Red Bull Arena". The naming rights were granted on 25 March 2010 and the stadium will be named so for a minimum period of 10 years as of 1 July 2010. The cost for renting the stadium will rise in accordance with the level of football RasenBallsport Leipzig are at. The team has pledged to upgrade the seating, install video advertising boards and make changes to the boxes and the VIP area.
In the 2010–11 season,
Hallescher FC
Hallescher FC, sometimes still called by its former popular name Chemie Halle, is a German association football club based in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third highest level in the German footb ...
played between three and five games at the Zentralstadion due to their own
Kurt-Wabbel Stadion
Kurt-Wabbel-Stadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home of Hallescher FC until 2010. It had a capacity of 23,860.
The stadium was opened in 1936 and was originall ...
being renovated.
In 2014, the stadium was ranked 17th in the country based on attendance, safety, and number of events.
Future expansion
In October 2015, expansion of the Red Bull Arena was back on the agenda. New plans were made to expand the stadium to 57,000 seats, involving Viennese architect Albert Wimmer. Reconstruction could start in the summer break of 2016. In January 2016, the club decided to put the plans on hold, at least until 2017.
In December 2016 RB Leipzig proposed that the stadium would be sold from former owner Michael Kölmel to the club to continue the plans from the 2015 agenda. Due to the move of the arena into ownership of Red Bull, a new stadium was out of possibility. The Stadium will expand to a total of 53,840 Seats as of Summer 2021, beginning from November 2018, when construction works will start.
Facilities
![Panorama Leipzig Richtung Westen von Tower 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Panorama_Leipzig_Richtung_Westen_von_Tower_2013.jpg)
There are bridges built over the old stadium to connect with the new stadium. The roof has an integrated floodlight design and is designed to provide superior acoustics. The grass area is 120 x 80 m, the actual playing field is 105 x 68 m. It has been integrated into the area surrounding the stadium by large numbers of trees and other greenery.
External dimensions
* North to South: 230 m
* East to West: 210 m
* Height to Roof: 46.5 m
* Roof Area: 28,100 m²
* Map Coordinates: 51° 20' 44" N; 12° 20' 54" E
2006 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues for the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, the only one located in the territory of the former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
.
The following games were played at the stadium during the 2006 World Cup:
Other uses
The arena is frequently used as a concert venue.
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
(2000),
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
(2004),
Herbert Grönemeyer
Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born 12 April 1956) is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Grönemeyer starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Pete ...
(2007, 2011),
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
(2007),
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
(2008),
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
(2009, 2013),
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
(2009, 2016),
Mario Barth
Mario Wolfgang Barth (born 1 November 1972) is a German comedian who mainly deals with the interactions between men and women.
Early life
Barth was one out of six children born to a family in Berlin-Mariendorf. Raised Catholic, he served as a ...
(2011),
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
(2012, 2017),
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (2013), and
Helene Fischer
Helene Fischer ( /heˈleːnə ˈfɪʃɚ/; German: eˈleːnə ˈfɪʃɐ born Jelena Petrovna Fischer, 5 August 1984) is a Russian-born German singer. Since her debut in 2005, she has won numerous awards, including 17 Echo awards, four "Die Kron ...
(2015, 2018) have all played at this venue.
References
External links
Facts and photos about the old and new Zentralstadionat Erlebnis-stadion.de
Homepage Zentralstadion
{{Authority control
2006 FIFA World Cup stadiums
Buildings and structures in Leipzig
FC Sachsen Leipzig
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup stadiums
UEFA Euro 2024 stadiums
Football venues in Germany
RB Leipzig
Red Bull
Sport in Leipzig
Sports venues completed in 2004
Sports venues in Saxony