Letzigrund (Swiss Standard German:[ˈlɛtsiɡrʊnd]ⓘ) is a stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, the home of the football clubs FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zürich, as well as the athletics club LC Zürich [de]. The stadium was constructed by members of FC Zürich in 1925. Grasshopper Club has been using it as their home stadium since 2007. LC Zürich was spun off of FC Zürich in 1934. The annual track and field meet Weltklasse Zürich, part of the Diamond League, has taken place at the Letzigrund since 1928, as have frequent open-air concerts. On the Letzigrund track on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary was the first human being to run the 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.[3]
The old Letzigrund stadium was opened on 22 November 1925 and was owned by FC Zürich. In 1937, during the Great Depression, ownership was transferred to the city of Zurich, which has operated the Letzigrund ever since. It underwent extensive remodeling in 1947, 1958, 1973, and 1984. Lighting was added in 1973. The first open-air concert there was held in 1996.
The capacity of the stadium was 25,000 and the main pitch was 105 by 68 meters, with athletics facilities. There were also three other playing fields: two lawns, an artificial turf, and a small packed sand field. The old Letzigrund also contained a bar and a restaurant within the stadium.[citation needed]
New stadium (2007–present)
In the 1990s, the athletics club Zürich pushed for a modernisation of the facilities at Letzigrund, in order to even better accommodate the athletes of Weltklasse Zürich. In 1997, the city parliament decided favourably on an upgrade of the stadium, whereas the city administration was simultaneously working on a reconstruction plan.[4] At the same time, the owners of the Hardturm football stadium were also planning to reconstruct their stadium.
In 2003, the new Hardturm stadium was approved by the city population in a public vote, but subsequently, legal objections by neighbourhood and environmental groups put the timely realisation for the EURO 2008 tournament, for which it was chosen by UEFA in 2002 as one of eight venues, in jeopardy. As a result, the planning process for the new Letzigrund stadium was accelerated. In 2005, the city population approved the reconstruction of the public stadium and the costs of temporarily adjusting the stadium to the requirements of EURO 2008 in two separate referenda.
Originally planned for 2009, the new Letzigrund stadium was opened on August 30, 2007.[5] The first sports event there was the annual Weltklasse Zürich on September 7 with 26,500 spectators. The first football game was FC Zürich vs. Grasshopper Club Zürich on September 23. It hosted three games during the 2008 European championships, with a capacity of up to 30,000. The current capacity is 25,000 for football events, 26,000 for athletics and 50,000 for concerts.[5]
Matches
UEFA Euro 2008
The stadium was one of the venues for the UEFA Euro 2008. Three games were played at the stadium during the tournament.
