Stadium
Since 1963, Hertha BSC has played its matches in Berlin's Olympiastadion, originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics. As of the most recent renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 74,228 (extended: 77,116), making it the second-largest stadium in Germany behind Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion (82,932, including ~67,000 seats). The stadium underwent major renovations twice, in 1974 and from 2000 to 2004. In both cases, the renovations were for the upcoming World Cup. In the 1974 upgrades, the stadium received a partial roof. It underwent a thorough modernisation for the 2006 World Cup. In addition, the colour of the track was changed to blue to match Hertha's club colours. In addition to Hertha's home games, Olympiastadion serves as one of the home grounds for the German national football team, and it hosts concerts, track and field competitions, and the annual German Cup final. It was also the site for six matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup including the tournament final.
From 1904, Hertha's home ground was the Plumpe in the city's Wedding (Gesundbrunnen) district. A stadium was built there in 1923 with a capacity of 35,000 (3,600 seats). The club left the stadium when it joined the Bundesliga in 1963. Hertha returned to the site during the Regionalliga years from 1965 to 1968. The sale of the site in 1971 helped the club avoid bankruptcy.
Due to a lack of spectator interest, Hertha played their 2nd Bundesliga and Amateurliga matches from 1986 to 1989 in Poststadion. The opening fixtures of the 1992–93 season, as well as Intertoto Cup, and UEFA Cup qualifying matches were played at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark.
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Famous quotes containing the word stadium:
“It’s no accident that of all the monuments left of the Greco- Roman culture the biggest is the ballpark, the Colosseum, the Yankee Stadium of ancient times.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)
“The final upshot of thinking is the exercise of volition, and of this thought no longer forms a part; but belief is only a stadium of mental action, an effect upon our nature due to thought, which will influence future thinking.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)
“In their eyes I have seen
the pin men of madness in marathon trim
race round the track of the stadium pupil.”
—Patricia K. Page (b. 1916)