Venues
The tournament was played at eight venues throughout the two host nations; four in Austria and four in Switzerland. Each venue had a capacity of at least 30,000 for the tournament; the largest stadium was Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna with a capacity of 53,295. It was for this reason that Ernst-Happel-Stadion hosted the final. Switzerland played all of their group stage matches at St. Jakob Park in Basel, which also hosted the opening match of the tournament as a compromise for the final being held in Vienna. Austria played all of their group stage matches at Ernst-Happel-Stadion.
In 2004, the Zurich venue became a problem for the organisers. Originally, the Hardturm stadium was to be renovated and used as the city's venue, but legal challenges delayed the plan to a point that would not have allowed the ground to be used in 2008. This created a problem, as the agreement between UEFA and the organizers stipulated that four venues would be used in each country. The problem was solved when the organizers proposed renovating Letzigrund instead; UEFA approved the revised plan in January 2005. The Letzigrund stadium hosted its first football match on 23 September 2007.
| Vienna | Klagenfurt | Salzburg | Innsbruck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernst-Happel-Stadion Capacity: 53,295 |
Hypo-Arena Capacity: 31,957 |
Wals-Siezenheim-Stadion Capacity: 31,020 |
Tivoli-Neu Stadion Capacity: 31,600 |
| Geneva | Basel | Bern | Zurich |
| Stade de Genève Capacity: 31,228 |
St. Jakob-Park Capacity: 42,000 |
Stade de Suisse Capacity: 31,907 |
Letzigrund Capacity: 30,000 |
Read more about this topic: UEFA Euro 2008