Südweststadion is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and was built in 1950, at which time it could hold 41,383 people. After a renovation in 2007, the maximum capacity was limited to 6,100 people. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches and is occasionally used as the home ground by

FSV Oggersheim FSV 1913 Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim is a German association football club based in the Oggersheim district of Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club advanced to the Regionalliga Süd (III) following an Oberliga (IV) title win in 2007, but ...

. The stadium has hosted several important games, such as four international matches of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, two West German Cup finals and the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

championship match.

History

In 1937, the first stadium was constructed on the site of the current Südweststadion. The new stadium was named after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and could hold 14,000 people. During the Allied bombings of

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the stadium was completely damaged, and a new stadium had to be built. In 1946, the new foundations for the stadium were constructed and, on November 11, 1950, the stadium was inaugurated. At that time, it was considered to be one of West Germany’s most modern stadiumsDie Rheinpfalz - Region - 18. Juni 2007 and several important West German matches were held at the stadium. When it was announced that West Germany would host the 1974 World Championship Football match, the city of Ludwigshafen applied to the organization committee as a candidate venue. The committee finally favored Frankfurt’s Waldstadion instead of the Südweststadion. Between 1983 and 1989,

SV Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of ov ...

played its Bundesliga matches in the Südweststadion. After that, the stadium fell into disrepair. In 2007, the stadium was partially renovated.

Concerts

During the ‘80s, the stadium hosted several concerts of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Peter Maffay Peter Alexander Makkay (born 30 August 1949), known as Peter Maffay (), is a Romanian-born German musician, singer, and composer. Being a veteran musician, he is often credited for motivating audiences with his emotional lyrics and powerful mel ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Eros Ramazzotti Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

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 Peter ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

. On August 30, 1992,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

made a stop at the stadium as part of his

Dangerous World Tour The ''Dangerous'' World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various chari ...

Regular tenants

FC Arminia 03

The football club FC Arminia 03 Ludwigshafen played most of its matches from 1952 to 1979 in the stadium. In 1979, the club moved to another location. Since 2013, the club has played in the stadium occasionally.

SV Waldhof Mannheim

When

was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1983, the club played from 1983 to 1989 in the stadium, as their own venue didn't meet the high security demands from the

DFB DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

. The club from neighboring city Mannheim played 102 matches in the stadium and moved back to their old venue in 1989, when the club was relegated from the Bundesliga.

FSV Oggersheim

In 2005,

began using the stadium. After its promotion to the Regionalliga in 2007, the stadium was partially renovated. The Municipality of Ludwigshafen invested €1,5 million to modernize the stadium. A large part of the stadium was closed due to security reasons. FSV Oggersheim left the stadium in 2009.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

Due to the stadium's large capacity,

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

played several home matches there during the '50s and '60s. In 1978/79 1. FC Kaiserslautern played their first two matches in the stadium when their

Fritz-Walter-Stadion Fritz-Walter-Stadion () is the home stadium of 1. FC Kaiserslautern and is located in the city of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was one of the stadia used in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is named after Fritz Walter (1920–200 ...

was redeveloped.

Important matches

Final West German championship

In 1952, the stadium hosted the first final match of the West German championship.http://www.dfb.de, (5 November 2014) * 22 juni 1952:

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

–

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

3:2

West German Cup Finals

The same hosted the DFB Pokal finals: * 17 April 1954:

–

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

1:0 * 9 June 1968:

–

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

4:1

International matches

The West German national team played four friendly matches in the stadium.

References

External links

Visiting the Südweststadion in Ludwigshafen.

Vergane Glorie – Südweststadion, pictures and history about the stadium

Official page of the stadium on Ludwigshafen's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudweststadion Football venues in Germany Athletics (track and field) venues in Germany Buildings and structures in Ludwigshafen Multi-purpose stadiums in Germany Sports venues in Rhineland-Palatinate Sport in Ludwigshafen