Description
Veltins Arena or Arena AufSchalke – famous multifunctional sports stadium located in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. Home arena of the local football club Schalke 04. UEFA category 4 stadium. Since 2005, the name of the arena is associated with the title sponsor - the German brewing company Veltins.
Veltins Arena, famous for its unusual architectural feature – complex retractable field system. If necessary, in just a few hours it moves to the street, passing under the southwestern stand. Such manipulations, firstly, provide better conditions for lawn growth, and, secondly, it allows a wide variety of events to be held at the stadium, including ice hockey and biathlon. The arena's capacity is 62,271 people for football matches and 72,020 for other events.
The Veltins Arena regularly hosts the World Team Challenge and the Christmas Biathlon Star Race. Also in this stadium in 2004, the final match of the Champions League between the Portuguese “Porto” and “Porto” took place. and "Monaco". In 2006, this field hosted FIFA World Cup matches, including the quarter-final between England and Portugal. Also in 2010, the opening match of the 2010 Ice Hockey World Championship between the US and German national teams was held here. This match was attended by 77,803 spectators, which became an absolute record for attendance at ice hockey matches.