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RheinEnergieStadion
Full name	RheinEnergieStadion
Location	Cologne, Germany
Built	1923
Opened	16 September 1923
Owner
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	47.4 million Deutsche Mark
Former names	Müngersdorfer Stadion (1923-UNK)
Tenants
1. FC Köln (2nd Bundesliga) (1948-present) Cologne Centurions (NFL Europa) (2004-2007)
Capacity
50,374 (seating and standing) 46,134 (seating only)
Dimensions
105 m x 68 m

The RheinEnergieStadion is the major football stadium in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was built on the site of the two previous Müngersdorfer Stadiums. It is the home of the local Bundesliga team, 1. FC Köln. The stadium was one of the 12 hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Stadium's name comes from a contract with the local power supplier RheinEnergie AG that will run out in 2009.

Contents 1 History 2 Recent matches of importance 3 Awards 4 Renovation 5 Facilities 6 External dimensions 7 2006 FIFA World Cup 8 External links

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the fortifications of Cologne were removed, thus allowing for the building of a new structure in the surrounding area. The new construction enabled the city to create 15,000 jobs. The new stadium was called the Müngersdorfer Stadion or the Kölner Stadion. This allowed Cologne not only to help stabilize the country but also to gain prestige and economic benefits for the city. The cost was tallied at 47.4 million Deutsche Mark but was omitted with the 1923 currency reform.

Following the completion of the stadium the city began to rise to prominence. Many major football matches were held at the stadium in front of huge crowds. The first international match was held on 20 November 1927, when the Germany national football team drew 2-2 with the Netherlands. Since then, the Germany team has played 19 times at the stadium and only one of those matches resulted in a loss. Another notable match was the first post-war game, which saw 1. FC Nürnberg beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2-1, in front of a crowd of 75,000.

One of the specialties of the Müngersdorfer Stadion was the track meets for non-professional sportsmen. In 1929 there were over 38,000 participants. However, in 1933 Jews were no longer allowed to take part. After the war the level of non-professional was never regained.

In 2005 it was a venue for three first round games of the FIFA Confederations Cup including the opening match between Argentina and Tunisia. The game was won by Argentina 2-1.

The Müngersdorfer has been host to many important UEFA Cup matches. In UEFA Cup 1988-89, Bayer Leverkusen played against FC Barcelona, and Galatasaray against AS Monaco in the 1989 UEFA Cup. Borussia Mönchengladbach played both Arsenal and AS Monaco in the 1996 UEFA Cup. It also functioned as the home ground to second tier Alemannia Aachen in their 2004-2005 UEFA Cup campaign.

In July 2004, the RheinEnergie Stadion was awarded a bronze medal for distinguished sporting and leisure facilities by the International Olympic Committee.

There have been two renovations, the first from 1972 to 1975 and once more in 2002 to 2004.

In 1974 the World Cup was held in West Germany and Cologne had wanted to be a host city. Their bid was approved and they soon began work on a new stadium that was to replace the now outdated Müngersdorfer Stadium. However, the city was unable to raise the money needed for a stadium of the desired size. The original plan was for an 80,000-seat arena which was planned to have cost 23.5 million Deutsche Mark. But the total kept growing. In the end, if the stadium had been completed, the cost would have amounted to 93.5 million. At the time the city was only able to provide an extra 6 million Deutsche Mark.

Following the World Cup, Cologne still wanted the stadium completed. Hence, on 12 November 1975, a 61,000-seat Arena was inaugurated with a match between 1. FC Köln and SC Fortuna Köln[1], 1. FC Köln winning 1-0.

The most recent renovation was completed in 2003. With the news of the prospect of bringing the World Cup back to Germany the city reacted. Building what is there today the RheinEnergie Stadion. Unlike the stadiums that came before it, there are no track and field facilities. This allows the spectators to be much closer to the pitch then they can be in a traditional multi-use stadium. The stadium was desined on many English-style stadia, so they were especially pleased that England would be playing Sweden in a FIFA World Cup 2006 Group B match.

The capacity is 50,374 visitors during club matches and 46,134 for international games, when there are no standing spectators allowed. The entire field is lit with a floodlight system. In the north grandstand there is a museum dedicated to 1.FC Köln.

Length	220 m
Width	180 m
Height to Roof	33.25 m
Roof Area	15,400 m²

The stadium is one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, due to sponsorship contracts, the arena was called FIFA World Cup Stadium Cologne during the World Cup.

The following games were played at the stadium during the World Cup of 2006:

Date	Time (CET)	Team #	Res.	Team #2	Round	Spectators
2006-06-11	21.00	Angola	0-1	Portugal	Group D	45,000
2006-06-17	17.00	Czech Republic	0-2	Ghana	Group E	45,000
2006-06-20	18.00	Sweden	2-2	England	Group B	45,000
2006-06-23	20.00	Togo	0-2	France	Group G	45,000
2006-06-26	21.00	Switzerland	0-0 (0-3 PEN)	Ukraine	Round of 16	45,000

• Stadium Guide
• A 3D Model of the Stadium
• The Stadium's Web Site

2006 FIFA World Cup Stadiums

FIFA WM-Stadion Dortmund (Dortmund) | FIFA WM-Stadion Frankfurt (Frankfurt) | FIFA WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen (Gelsenkirchen) | FIFA WM-Stadion Hamburg (Hamburg) | FIFA WM-Stadion Hannover (Hanover) | FIFA WM-Stadion Köln (Cologne) | FIFA WM-Stadion München (Munich) | Frankenstadion (Nuremberg) | Fritz-Walter-Stadion (Kaiserslautern) | Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion (Stuttgart) | Olympiastadion (Berlin) | Zentralstadion (Leipzig)

2. Fußball-Bundesliga Venues (2007-08) v • d • e
Allianz Arena | badenova-Stadion | Bieberer Berg Stadion | Borussia-Park | BRITA-Arena | Dietmar Hopp Stadion | Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld | Erzgebirgsstadion | Fritz Walter Stadion | Hermann Löns Stadium | Millerntor-Stadion | Osnatel-Arena | Playmobil-Stadion | RheinEnergieStadion | Rosenaustadion | Stadion am Bruchweg | Stadion Oberwerth | Tivoli

Coordinates: 50°56′0.59″N, 6°52′29.99″E