Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium)

Berlin

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The Olympiastadion is a sports stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics by Werner March. During the Olympics, the record attendance was thought to be over 100,000. Today the stadium is part of the Olympiapark Berlin.

Since renovations in 2004, the Olympiastadion has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats and is the largest stadium in Germany for international football matches. Olympiastadion is a UEFA category four stadium and one of the world's most prestigious venues for sporting and entertainment events.

Besides its use as an athletics stadium, the arena has built a footballing tradition. Since 1963, it has been the home ground of the Hertha BSC football team. It hosted three matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It was renovated for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when it hosted six matches, including the final. The German Cup (DFB-Pokal) final match is held each year at the venue. The Olympiastadion Berlin served as a host for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final.

Renovation

With the intention of creating a more intimate atmosphere for football games, the playing field was lowered by 2.65 metres (8.7 ft). Approximately 90,000 cubic metres (3,200,000 cu ft) of sand was excavated. The lower tier of seating in the stadium was demolished and rebuilt at a completely different angle of inclination.

The roof was extended to cover a total of 37,000 square metres (400,000 sq ft), with 20 roof-supporting columns carrying a weight of 3,500 tonnes (3,900 short tons) of steel. The roof rises 68 metres (223 ft) over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. The western portion (on the Marathon Arch) is open to reveal the Bell Tower to the spectators.

The conservation factor of the Olympiastadion as a historical monument was also considered, especially with respect to the preservation of the natural stone blocks. After criticisms, the colour of the athletics track around the game field was changed from red to blue, reflecting the colours of Hertha BSC.

The renovations used 70,000 cubic metres (2,500,000 cu ft) of concrete and 20,000 cubic metres (710,000 cu ft) of pre-cast reinforced concrete elements. Some 12,000 cubic metres (420,000 cu ft) of concrete was demolished and removed and 30,000 cubic metres (1,100,000 cu ft) of natural stone was refurbished.

The Olympiastadion was equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment. It has 113 VIP stands, a set of restaurants, and two underground garages (for 630 cars). The total cost of the remodelling and amplification was €242 million. Capacity

The new Olympic Stadium has the highest all-seated capacity in Germany. It has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats.[1] The upper tier has 31 seating rows at an average slope of 23° and houses 36,455 seats, of which 36,032 are regular seats, 290 are seats on the press stand and 133 are seats in skyboxes. The lower tier has 42 seating rows at an average angle of 25,4° and houses 38,020 seats, of which 32,310 are regular seats, 560 are box seats, 563 are lounge seats (expandable to 743), 4,413 are business seats and 174 are wheelchair spaces.[1]

For certain football matches, such as those between Hertha BSC and FC Bayern München, the capacity can be temporarily expanded. This is made by the addition of mobile grandstand over the Marathon Arch. The extended capacity reached 76,197 seats in 2014.[5][6]

The only stadiums in Germany that have higher total capacities are the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund and the Allianz Arena in Munich. However, the Signal Iduna Park and the Allianz Arena have both seating and standing areas, and their all-seated capacities are lower than that of the Olympiastadion. The total capacity of the Allianz Arena is also lower than the extended capacity of the Olympiastadion.