Veltins-Arena (Gelsenkirchen)

Arena AufSchalke (currently known as the Veltins-Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on August 13, 2001, as a new home venue for the Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04.

Basic information

Official website: https://veltins-arena.de/ 

Arena capacity: 62, 271 spectators 

Address: Arenaring 1, 45891 Gelsenkirchen, Germany

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 51.5546 ° N, 7.0675 ° E 

Year of construction: August 13, 2001 

Construction cost: €191 million 

Field: 105 × 68 m 

Veltins Arena Seating Plan

Veltins-Arena is built in the shape of a bowl, with permanent seating. Nord Kurve is closest to the club’s old stadium, Parkstadion, while the Gazprom Tribune runs along the field. On the opposite side of the Gazprom Tribune is the Ergro Tribune, which is the main tribune of the arena, as there are locker rooms, a players tunnel and much more.

Where to buy tickets?

As with most top-level teams in Europe, how much you pay for Schalke tickets almost entirely depends on where you will be on the ground. You can get tickets on the terrace for around €15 if you don’t mind getting up. If you prefer to sit, you can go for one of the goals for about €26, or you can take chic seats for about €52.

How to get tickets for FC Schalke 04

You can get tickets through the club’s official website or from the stadium itself. Gelsenkirchen has many official Schalke locations where you can buy tickets and you can get them by phone if you speak German. Keep in mind that Schalke tickets are selling out fast, so if you don’t book in advance, you can fight.

How to get there?

Train

A trip from London to Gelsenkirchen will take you about six hours. First stop in Brussels, then in Cologne, then in Oberhausen before arriving in Gelsenkirchen itself. After that, you can get from the light rail station to the VELTINS-Arena light rail station, which is a few minutes from the ground itself.

Bus

In fact, there are no buses to the stadium, because a tram is the best choice.

Car

If you want to go, then you must take the A2 autobahn, leaving exit 6, or A42 and leaving exit 17. From there you can follow the signs to the ground.

By plane

Dusseldorf Airport is about 45 minutes from the center of Gelsenkirchen.

Taxi

Getting a taxi from the center of Gelsenkirchen to the stadium will cost about 15 euros and take ten minutes.

Parking near Veltins Arena

There is enough space on the ground for about 14,000 cars, so you won’t fight for a place if you are there early enough.

Veltins Arena Hotels

InterCityHotel Gelsenkirchen — 50+

Ringstr. 1-3, Gelsenkirchen, NW, 45879

This ski hotel has over one hundred rooms with free Wi-Fi. There is a restaurant, a bar, a terrace and a snack bar. There are four conference rooms that you can use if you are on business, and self parking if you intend to drive. It’s about three and a half miles to the stadium.

Art Hotel Monopol — 60+

Springestraße 9, Gelsenkirchen, NW, 45894

Art Hotel Monopol has 35 rooms and a restaurant. There is free Wi-Fi and you can also have breakfast if you are homely in the morning. This is a three star hotel and you can walk to Veltins-Arena in about half an hour.

Park Hotel Heiner’s — 80+

Am Bugapark 1d, Gelsenkirchen, NW, 45899

This four-star hotel is located in the very center of Gelsenkirchen and has a bar, restaurant and five conference rooms. For those of you, there is free car parking and free Wi-Fi on site. If you do not know the city well, then you will be pleased that you can get help in organizing tours and tickets. It’s two miles from here to the ground.

Pubs and Bars Near Veltins-Arena

Charlie Bummelzug

Bahnhofsvorpl. 10, 45879, Gelsenkirchen

Charlie Neumann was the team leader at Schalke, as well as a restaurateur. It is not surprising that he and his daughter together opened a bar, which is actually the center of the Schalke group of supporters. You can enjoy a pint of pils at the bar in a great atmosphere and watch sports broadcasts on large screens.

Cafe Del Sol

Adenauerallee 128, 45891, Gelsenkirchen

Cafe Del Sol is one of the closest to the stadium on this list where you can have a drink and a snack. This is not a place where you want to go if you watch football before you go to watch football, but the food is great and you can even bring a dog with you if you have one with you.

Fliegenpils

Hagenstraße 40, 45896, Gelsenkirchen

Fligenpils is known in Buer as a sports bar or a place where you can watch live sports broadcasts. You can drink almost anything you like, from beer and shots to soft drinks and coffee. Many snacks are also available.

Hospitality

Veltins Arena has a large number of executive areas. If you want to become truly upscale, you can, for example, consider hiring one VIP box. If you want to go to one of the halls, then you will have many options. The LaOla-Club, the Glückauf-Club and the Libuda Lounge are all available. There is even a hall in which there is a casino, if you like it!

Private rental

The beauty of football clubs with a large number of representative areas is that they can be hired when not in use. If you want to hold a business meeting, party or something else, the club can help you.

Site and layout

The venue chosen for the new Schalke 04 stadium is located in close proximity to the old park, on a vast part of the club’s property, known as Berger Feld. Unfortunately, the two shaft shafts of the coal mines Consolidation and Hugo pass directly under this deposit at a depth of 800 meters. These mines (used before 2000) would cause unwanted shifts and tensions that could disrupt the structural integrity of the stadium. To avoid this, the main axis was rotated from the classic north-south alignment to the northeast-southwest alignment, making the arena parallel to the shafts.

Veltins-Arena was created as a multi-functional arena of two levels that completely surround the playing field. They allow the league to accommodate 62,271 spectators (standing and sitting) and an international capacity of 54,740. For league matches, the northern stand is left in the form of standing rows (capacity: 16,307) to accommodate Schalke 04 fans, while for international matches they are converted to places (capacity: 8,600). 72 VIP lounges form a ring around the entire stadium, separating the first level from the second. On the main western stand, the VIP capacity increases due to the second level of the halls directly under the main belt.

The foundation for the stadium was created from cast concrete and 600,000 cubic meters (21,000,000 cubic feet) of packaged slag — waste from the steel industry. They were packed in mounds to support the four main stands, which were made from prefabricated reinforced concrete sections. Tunnels of 4.50 by 4.50 m (14.8 feet×14.8 feet) lead to the four corners of the arena, which serve as access for construction and assembly, as well as ventilation for the interior.

Roof and field

Veltins-Arena features a Teflon-coated fiberglass retractable roof that spans the entire stadium. The roof rests on a rectangular truss, which is suspended above the field, which, in turn, is connected to the main building through 24 steel pylons. The center of the roof can be opened in two halves, which allows you to open or close the stadium, depending on the weather and the event. To reduce external noise to 105 decibels during concerts, a second layer of Teflon-coated fiberglass was added over the first, creating a damping air cushion.

Above the center of the field are 25 meters (82 feet) and four video screens, each of which has an area of ​​35 square meters (380 square feet). The centrally suspended scoreboard, similar to those found in indoor sports arenas, was the first of its kind in a football stadium and has since been copied to the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt and the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf.

Like the Sapporo Dome in Japan, the state farm stadium in the USA and GelreDome in the Netherlands, the Veltins-Arena has a pull-out platform. With the support of 11,400-ton (11,200-ton, 12,600-ton) substructures, the playing field can be moved to the stadium and left for four hours. This has several advantages:

• The surface of the grass game can grow under normal external conditions without suffering from a lack of circulation and light, as in other arenas.
• Free sports predictions 24 hours a day.
• The soccer field is not damaged during indoor events such as concerts.
• The floor of the multifunctional hall can be converted and modernized in a short time.
• The outside area, which is not occupied by the field, can be used as a parking lot for buses during football matches.

History

Plans to build a new stadium appeared in the late 1990s, when fans and managers sought to leave the obsolete Parkstadion and create a completely modern multi-purpose arena. After the historic victory of Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup in 1997 and the club’s 100th anniversary in 2004, in 1998 the German construction company HBM received a contract for the construction of a stadium worth 186 million euros.