Red Bull Arena (German pronunciation:[ɹɛtˈbʊlʔaˌʁeːna]; formerly ZentralstadionGerman pronunciation:[tsɛnˈtʁaːlˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn]ⓘ), is a football facility located in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It is the largest football stadium in eastern Germany, and has also hosted music concerts as well as football.[1]
Opened in 2004, it is currently the home stadium for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, with FC Sachsen Leipzig 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.[2][3]
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.[citation needed] 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).[citation needed] However, over the years,[vague] it fell into disuse and was costing the city too much[according to whom?] to maintain.[citation needed] In 1997, the city of Leipzig decided to build a new stadium within the old stadium, a modern state of the art[tone] stadium only for football.[citation needed] Construction of the new stadium took place from December 2000 to March 2004.[citation needed] A similar endeavour of constructing a new stadium within the confines of an historic stadium's exterior was completed in Chicago's Soldier Field, which similarly built a modern stadium while preserving the exterior of the original structure.
History
The Zentralstadion was the only stadium in eastern Germany to host games in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[citation needed] 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 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 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 at the start of the 2008–09 season.
In July 2009, energy drink manufacturer Red Bull 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.[vague] The team has pledged to upgrade the seating, install video advertising boards and make changes to the boxes and the VIP area.[vague][4][5]
In the 2010–11 season, Hallescher FC played between three and five games at the Zentralstadion due to their own Kurt-Wabbel Stadion being renovated.[6]
In 2014, the stadium was ranked 17th in the country based on attendance, safety, and number of events.[7]
Future expansion
In October 2015, expansion of the Red Bull Arena was back on the agenda.[tone] 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.[vague][8] In January 2016, the club decided to put the plans on hold, at least until 2017.[9]
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.[vague][10][11]
Facilities
Red Bull Arena with FestwieseLeipzig city centre with Red Bull Arena to the right
There are bridges built over the old stadium to connect with the new stadium.[citation needed] The roof has an integrated floodlight design and is designed to provide superior[tone][vague] acoustics.[citation needed] The grass area is 120 x 80 m, the actual pitch is 105 x 68 m.[citation needed] It has been integrated into the area surrounding the stadium by large numbers of trees and other greenery.
