2006 Stadia

[F96]

http://www.allianz-arena.de/imperia/md/images/allianzarena2003/bildergalerien/bildschirmbilder/800x600/schnee_281204/13.jpg

[Grizzly]

Yes, Lok Leibzig, abot 10 000 fans/game/11th(lowest)german league due to financial bancrupt6.
And VFB leibzig, 5 000 Fans or so a Game, 4th League I think...
And one of them was the first German champion...

You really should not answer questions if you don't know the answer to them.

First of all there are two main clubs in Leipzig but they are not LOK and VfB which are actually the same club. VfB was the original name of the club under which they were the 1st German champion but during the GDR it was changed to LOKomotive due to sponsorship from GDR Rail. After reunification they changed it back to VfB but then since they went bankrupt and the club was stricken from the club register and could only be refounded with a new name so they reverted to LOK which is what everyone called them anyway regardless of the official name. The other team in Leipzig is Sachsen Leipzig previously known as BSG Chemie Leipzig in the DDR and always referred to as Chemie. They play in the 4th division. Both teams have suffered from poor management and a split in funding caused by having two teams in the city instead of one. The average casual soccer fan in Leipzig would probably support whichever club is ahead but the hardcore fans absolutely hate each other. Without getting into all of the reasons behind this, LOK was a favoured party team in the DDR and received far more financial support and benefitted from forced player transfers whereas being a Chemie fan was one of the few forms of protest against the regime one could get away with. LOK always played in the top GDR league and won the Cup several times which allowed them to play in European competition. They were once finalists in the Cup Winner's Cup but never managed to win the GDR league title. Chemie bounced between the 1st and 2nd division of the GDR league but did manage to win the title twice much to the displeasure of league officials. As I Chemie fan I won't claim to be entirely unbiased in my opinions but LOK is definitely the club with the far greater hooligan problem and also a great deal of neo-Nazi fans (which is one reason I like most other foreigners in Leipzig drifted over to the far more tolerant Chemie). LOK has one rivalry just as equally heated as with Chemie and that is with Dynamo Dresden. Basically if you ever want to attend a riot in Leipzig attend a Leipzig derby or a Dynamo-LOK match.

Both teams have their own stadium. The LOK stadium is a pretty run down GDR style stadium of 15 000 to 20 000 capacity. Sachsen's stadium of similar size is also old but in much better condition and has a style similar to many traditional english stadiums. Both teams played in Zentralstadium when their games warranted it and since LOK during most of the GDR had the better team playing at a higher level they played here more often than Chemie (perhaps explaining why Chemie's stadium is in better condition). LOK fans consider the Zentralstadium to be theirs because of this although obviously Chemikers dispute this. In reality this stadium belongs to neither side and only holds those events of either team warranting the stadium. The current situation is that LOK plays at their own stadium and away at the other 11th div. stadiums in the city while Sachsen plays in the Zentralestadium. Sachsen's own stadium is perfectly fine for 4th division matches and actually has a much better atmosphere given the typical crowd size. The majority of fans want the club to move back to its own stadium and sometimes chant this during games. It is not that they don't like the new stadium which is quite beautiful but that there isn't much atmosphere to 4th division games which range between 2 000 and 6 000 fans sitting in a 45 000 seat stadium. However, it would look bad for the city and stadium officials if noone was playing in the stadium now that it is built so they pay Sachsen to play there.

The thing that has everyone confused is the 11th division game that LOK played to 11 000 fans. This was a clever scheme meant largely as a provocation of Sachsen fans, i.e. to show them that Zentralestadium was LOK's not Sachsen's and to play there and outdraw Sachsen even while playing in the 11th division. They staged and heavily promoted this game which featured not only the game but a show and at very low ticket prices. Many of the fans were not necessarily LOK or even soccer fans but were there for the event, a fact which also helped to avoid the hooligan problems that often occur at LOK games. It came off perfectly and got them great publicity throughout Germany most of which thinks they get 11000 for every game. In fact they get about 2 000 for their home games which is still good for the 11th div. but is basically their hardcore support. Sachsen draws a bit higher than this but at obviously substantially higher ticket prices. When they were both in the 4th division recently Sachsen was slightly outdrawing LOK.

There is also another lower (maybe 7th or 8th div.) team in Leipzig that draws quite well sometimes over 1000 and that is Roter Stern (Red Star). This is a leftist club with support along the lines of St. Pauli (i.e. punks and other leftists) and is allied with Sachsen against LOK. As LOK has very substantial neo-Nazi and right wing support, when it promotes to Roter Stern's division there will be some games with huge fan numbers but also huge chances for violent fan clashes. The one thing that everyone agrees on is that the professional soccer situation in Leipzig is in a terrible state at the moment especially with a first class Bundesliga facility in the city and enough fans who would support any team that managed to reach a decent league level.

[jonam]

You really should not answer questions if you don't know the answer to them.

First of all there are two main clubs in Leipzig but they are not LOK and VfB which are actually the same club. VfB was the original name of the club under which they were the 1st German champion but during the GDR it was changed to LOKomotive due to sponsorship from GDR Rail. After reunification they changed it back to VfB but then since they went bankrupt and the club was stricken from the club register and could only be refounded with a new name so they reverted to LOK which is what everyone called them anyway regardless of the official name. The other team in Leipzig is Sachsen Leipzig previously known as BSG Chemie Leipzig in the DDR and always referred to as Chemie. They play in the 4th division. Both teams have suffered from poor management and a split in funding caused by having two teams in the city instead of one. The average casual soccer fan in Leipzig would probably support whichever club is ahead but the hardcore fans absolutely hate each other. Without getting into all of the reasons behind this, LOK was a favoured party team in the DDR and received far more financial support and benefitted from forced player transfers whereas being a Chemie fan was one of the few forms of protest against the regime one could get away with. LOK always played in the top GDR league and won the Cup several times which allowed them to play in European competition. They were once finalists in the Cup Winner's Cup but never managed to win the GDR league title. Chemie bounced between the 1st and 2nd division of the GDR league but did manage to win the title twice much to the displeasure of league officials. As I Chemie fan I won't claim to be entirely unbiased in my opinions but LOK is definitely the club with the far greater hooligan problem and also a great deal of neo-Nazi fans (which is one reason I like most other foreigners in Leipzig drifted over to the far more tolerant Chemie). LOK has one rivalry just as equally heated as with Chemie and that is with Dynamo Dresden. Basically if you ever want to attend a riot in Leipzig attend a Leipzig derby or a Dynamo-LOK match.

Both teams have their own stadium. The LOK stadium is a pretty run down GDR style stadium of 15 000 to 20 000 capacity. Sachsen's stadium of similar size is also old but in much better condition and has a style similar to many traditional english stadiums. Both teams played in Zentralstadium when their games warranted it and since LOK during most of the GDR had the better team playing at a higher level they played here more often than Chemie (perhaps explaining why Chemie's stadium is in better condition). LOK fans consider the Zentralstadium to be theirs because of this although obviously Chemikers dispute this. In reality this stadium belongs to neither side and only holds those events of either team warranting the stadium. The current situation is that LOK plays at their own stadium and away at the other 11th div. stadiums in the city while Sachsen plays in the Zentralestadium. Sachsen's own stadium is perfectly fine for 4th division matches and actually has a much better atmosphere given the typical crowd size. The majority of fans want the club to move back to its own stadium and sometimes chant this during games. It is not that they don't like the new stadium which is quite beautiful but that there isn't much atmosphere to 4th division games which range between 2 000 and 6 000 fans sitting in a 45 000 seat stadium. However, it would look bad for the city and stadium officials if noone was playing in the stadium now that it is built so they pay Sachsen to play there.

The thing that has everyone confused is the 11th division game that LOK played to 11 000 fans. This was a clever scheme meant largely as a provocation of Sachsen fans, i.e. to show them that Zentralestadium was LOK's not Sachsen's and to play there and outdraw Sachsen even while playing in the 11th division. They staged and heavily promoted this game which featured not only the game but a show and at very low ticket prices. Many of the fans were not necessarily LOK or even soccer fans but were there for the event, a fact which also helped to avoid the hooligan problems that often occur at LOK games. It came off perfectly and got them great publicity throughout Germany most of which thinks they get 11000 for every game. In fact they get about 2 000 for their home games which is still good for the 11th div. but is basically their hardcore support. Sachsen draws a bit higher than this but at obviously substantially higher ticket prices. When they were both in the 4th division recently Sachsen was slightly outdrawing LOK.

There is also another lower (maybe 7th or 8th div.) team in Leipzig that draws quite well sometimes over 1000 and that is Roter Stern (Red Star). This is a leftist club with support along the lines of St. Pauli (i.e. punks and other leftists) and is allied with Sachsen against LOK. As LOK has very substantial neo-Nazi and right wing support, when it promotes to Roter Stern's division there will be some games with huge fan numbers but also huge chances for violent fan clashes. The one thing that everyone agrees on is that the professional soccer situation in Leipzig is in a terrible state at the moment especially with a first class Bundesliga facility in the city and enough fans who would support any team that managed to reach a decent league level.

Top posting once again. Though I know the stuff you are writing very well this is a deep insight look for foreigners.

Keep it up!

[F96]

I want some snow too, I'm jelous!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/Hannoi/5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/Hannoi/2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/Hannoi/9.jpg

All pics taken from www.allianz-arena.de (http://www.allianz-arena.de)

[Grizzly]

Pictures from Leipzig

Old Zentralstadion (Largest Stadium in Germany)
http://www.stadien-sachsen.de/images/stadion/pic5.jpg

New Zentralstadion Built Inside Old Stadium (World Cup and currently FC Sachsen)
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/germany/sachsen/leipzig_zentral1.jpg http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/germany/sachsen/leipzig_zentral2.jpg

Pictures from www.worldstadiums.com and www.stadiens-sachsen.de (site has good info on soccer in Leipzig, both teams and Derby history in German for anyone interested)

[Grizzly]

Alfred Kunze Sportpark (Traditional Stadium of FC Sachsen)
http://www.nordostfussball.de/stadien/stsachsen/alfredkunze/images/alfred-kunze05.jpg

Bruno Plache Stadium (LOK)
http://www.nordostfussball.de/stadien/stsachsen/brunoplache/images/bruno-plache03.jpg

Pictures from www.nordostfootball.de

[Netzer]

AOL Arena Hamburg (http://www.photo-digitalis.de/data/media/13/AOL-Arena.jpg)

[DanielHSV]

AOL Arena Hamburg (http://www.photo-digitalis.de/data/media/13/AOL-Arena.jpg)
Nice picture, but actually its a miniature model ;)
(http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de)

Real stadium looks more like this (http://www.stadion-postkarten.de/cards/bs_74.jpg).
And this (http://www.stadiumguide.com/volksparkstadion1.jpg) is the good, old Volksparkstadion.

[hoop]

And more new pics from the Waldstadium!
Really nice ones this time imo:
http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/galerie/gal/Umbaudokumentation/2004/2004-11-30/L1070801.JPG
http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/galerie/gal/Umbaudokumentation/2004/2004-11-30/L1070829.JPG
http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/galerie/gal/Umbaudokumentation/2004/2004-11-30/L1070809.JPG
and how about this view...


all pictures from the renovation are here:
http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/stadionumbau/index.html
Has anyone found out what the four pillars around the waldstadion are for yet

[Doc_Aeppler]

4 pillars?!
You probably mean the two "mediatowers" infront of the mainstand. I think they are
for ventilation of the parking area under the stadium, plus they are kind of an emblem
for the new stadium and also will be used for commercial purposes.
They are supposed to get glazed soon, so then they will look a lot better then now....

http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/galerie/gal/Umbaudokumentation/2005/2005-01-06/L1080202.JPG

[F96]

http://www.allianz-arena.de/imperia/md/images/allianzarena2003/bildergalerien/luftbilder_130105/3.jpg

http://www.allianz-arena.de/imperia/md/images/allianzarena2003/bildergalerien/luftbilder_130105/16.jpg

http://www.allianz-arena.de/imperia/md/images/allianzarena2003/bildergalerien/luftbilder_130105/19.jpg

[F96]

Niedersachsenstadion (AWD Arena) almost finished
http://www.96er.de/neu/arena/1801200502.jpg

The new administration office (?) that is going to be build
http://epaper01.niedersachsen.com/eZeitung/2005011910723html/NP/images/img53475.jpg

[F96]

Frankfurt

http://www.stadionwelt.de/stadionwelt_stadien/templates/neubau/fotos/neues_waldstadion/20050124/140.jpg

[F96]

Hannover
http://www.rote-erleuchtung.de/stadion/050123/dsc_0077.jpg

[F96]

Allianz Arena, Munich (well almost)
http://www.allianz-arena.de/imperia/md/images/allianzarena2003/bildergalerien/baustelle_240105/1.jpg

[Doc_Aeppler]

http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/images/luftaufnahme/luft022005fa.jpg

oh what a beauty! :)

[Germanshepherd]

http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/images/luftaufnahme/luft022005fa.jpg

oh what a beauty! :)

Ive been riding with an ICE-train nearby the stadium and it looks great. Although the surrounding area needs some cleaning.

[Doc_Aeppler]

you're right, theres plenty to do still until the world cup. but at the mometn tehre is a lot going out aroudn the stadium:
they are paving many ways around the stadium that used to be all muddy, they also started rebuilding the old tram station, theyre working at the trainstation too, and i think there will be a new underpass below the traintracks where the barrier is now. thats good, cos that thing is definitely closed every single time i wanna go through there... :D
The parkhouse below the stadium seems to be almost finished, and a new bridge across the highway linking the stadium and a big parking lot in the wood has been finished like half a year ago...
Plus they are installing the new entrance turnstiles, that electricly read the tickets all around. Then of course, the tickets are not ready for it yet, and they wont be until next season, but oh well, at least we have the new gates...
things are moving rapidly, its always interesting to see what all has changed since the last game...
they also stated glazing the main stand:
http://www.neues-waldstadion.de/de/galerie/gal/Umbaudokumentation/2005/2005-02-11/L1080908.JPG

[  ]

The Allianz Arena is going to be incredible. Saw some pictures with the lights; eventhough I was a little turned off at first because it looks more like a spaceship than anything else, but this is what is going to make the stadium unique across the world.

[Soccergodlss]

You guys are making me jealous. I just moved back to the US a couple of years ago, so now I won't get to see the WC. To make matters worse, I had just move away from Japan (to Germany) right before the 2002 WC. I'm pissed!