Zentralstadion (1956)

Final review

After the 1896 Summer Olympics, the city of Leipzig begun to plan a stadium in its town. The Zentralstadion was built first for the sports students within the Sportforum Leipzig, as the stadium of 100,000. Beside it was the Olympic style swimming stadium. After the sports university, rowing channel and the swimming stadium, they began to plan for a new stadium downtown. The citizens wanted to get the Olympic Games for Leipzig. They used the blueprints of the architect Werner March, the architect of the Olympiastadion (Berlin). To finish the plan, they needed only 15 months. The reason is that 180,000 volunteers worked there without salary. Walter Ulbricht himself named the stadium into "Stadion der Hunderttausend" (stadium of 100,000). He decided that the German Gym and Sports Celebrations must take place there only. Willy Tröger was a disabled player who played with an amputated right arm and shot a final goal for the GDR national team, 1957. First soccer teams from other cities and towns were the Honved Budapest and 1.FC Kaiserslautern. The next event with filled stadium is the Friedensfahrt. The state actor Uwe Steimle told:" It is not a noticeable society with power." The best club soccer event there was the won semifinal match of the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup. The only one match in Leipzig that soccer fans still know. Up to 1987, the stadium was still up to date. 1977 they got better flood lights with more lumens, but had the problem that the houses of beside the stadium had power cuts during matches. Peoples had no light in their flats (Leipzig Waldstraßen District). It is still the German stadium with the most spectators during a match. For matches of the GDR national team attendance is regularly 80,000 up to 120,000 spectators.

Reasons for the new construction as part of the Sports Forum Leipzig

Since the War of the Fourth Coalition, pedagogues (Ernst Moritz Arndt & Friedrich Ludwig Jahn) became the idea to invent German national sports celebrations for defending as Lützow Free Corps against the French invaders. Decades later: Leipzig was one of the richest towns in Germany. They had so many festivals for sports celebrated. Other towns in Germany tried or celebrated the same but had never over 100,000 or more participants, during the time of the Kingdom of Saxony, Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, except during the 1936 Summer Olympics. The leader Walter Ulbricht wanted to have own national games and that needs a Stadium which does commemorate for the 100,000 fallen soldiers during the Battle of Leipzig, for norms and principles of the First Geneva Convention (humanity law). And Their motto was of course and after their anthem of East Germany Risen from Ruins.

Construction time

Heinz Haferkorn (regional leader of the Free German Youth) is the official in charge for the volunteers and got the order to find 200 volunteers, for every working day. They begin their work on August 2, 1955. To save money, say use the ruins of the town. The official architect Karl Souradny was never the real and went only to parties and worked in East Berlin only. He had drawn only the survey map and that is all. Nevertheless, he got for three GDR pojects the full salaries. The all in all 180,000 volunteers working together 735,992 hours for the stadium, which needed for machines, concrete and tools 28 millions East German mark/ 5,6 million Deutsche Mark/ 2,9 million €/ 9 million $. A small train had been brought nonstop debris to the stadium. They didn't throw this on walls but created a mixture with ash, soil with bricks and compressed it with water.

Renovation controversies

1990, due riots in other countries of Europe and in Leipzig's Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark, the leader Rudolf Krause of the interior ministry in Leipzig ordered the ban of the Central Stadium. Rioters getting no real penalties when they can demolish in stadiums. The bell may not toll and the flame never more ignited, of the Werner Seelenbinder Tower. Initiators are the chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Otto Schily and Wolfgang Tiefensee. The Olympic Stadium, Berlin and the stadium here have a few similarities. Both had the same architects and had 100,000 seats. Both stadiums can be reached at nearly the same time with the public transportation systems and the highways. Then begun the time of differences: In Leipzig they did say it is too expensive to have this big stadium without roof. In Berlin, they did say the stadium needs only new seats and a new roof. In Berlin, they did say that they will get more spectators, after the renovation. In Leipzig with the one of the bet public infrastructure they said it would come less spectators. In Leipzig, the renovation would be expensive for only the seats, fences and roof. In 2006 they got for the international matches over 70,000 ticket requests, during the Soccer World Cup. The new Red Bull Arena (Leipzig) costs more than the old stadium and has fewer spectators. Would they have more seats they would increase their financial earn? And they would get more spectators in Leipzig, due the ability to have other sports competitions and other soccer finals in this stadium. If they would really have too fewer spectators (which is nonsense), they had the chance to block the sections for only 40,000 seats and build the other 60,000 when they will need them. Finally, they had a better stadium with character what is cheaper when they had only bought a new roof and seats with fences. Anybody could come and say: your stadium is too small for our stars, teams competitions. Leipzig has enough hotels and many opportunities. It is not a hicksville. Finally, the stadium can nevertheless be being expanded again, up to 100,000 or even larger. On all sides can be attached/ reopened the old new extra stands which are flatter, due the roof installation is anchored inside the outwards- wall. The old roof is part of the new and must be centrally located on all sides, with the new parts. A facade is needed and would create new rooms for the necessities. Hurdle is the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany which is practically trying to sabotage this project within of media, architects, building contractor, inventing of new laws to make all expensive and a lack of qualified personal. Motivation is a paranoia, that all in Eastern Germany must be worse than in Western Germany. In addition, it has approved that the stadium inside the Central- Stadium have been built to create it acoustic quiet. The blocks behind the goals are the reason for the atmosphere in nearly all stadiums in the World. These are nevertheless the smallest, have a smaller roof above and the 9.8-foot big wall, which blocks sound and fans far from the pitch.

International Soccer Matches of the East Germany national football team

Between 1957 and 2004, all matches were broadcast by the Deutscher Fernsehfunk and later Eurosport. 2,812,000 visitors came to the matches in all. The Soviet Union was the team with the most matches as foreign team here. The average of the visitor numbers is 63,909 without club team matches, Spartakiade and the East German Sports Festival. The East German national team won 20 matches with 13 drawns and 10 defeats. One match was hosted as national stadium for Poland. 21 matches took place as qualifying matches. 23 matches were exhibition matches.

German Sports Festival (National Olympics for East Germans)

During this festival came at least 150,000.