- Millerntor-Stadion
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Millerntor 
Former names Wilhelm-Koch-Stadion (1970-1998) Location Hamburg, Germany Opened 1963 Renovated 1988, since December 2006 Expanded 2007 Owner FC St. Pauli Surface Grass Construction cost 30,000,000 (Reconstruction) Architect agn Niederberghaus & Partner GmbH (Reconstruction) Capacity 24,487 Tenants FC St. Pauli The Millerntor-Stadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamburg St. Pauli, Germany. It is mainly used for football matches and is the home stadium of FC St. Pauli. It is on the Heiligengeistfeld, near the Reeperbahn, the red light district of Hamburg. The stadium had a capacity of 32 000 when it was built in 1961. Sometimes it is used for the American football team of the Hamburg Blue Devils and very rarely for concerts or festivals (recent the Retter festival 2003).
Contents
History
A floodlit Millerntor-Stadion
Before 1961 the FC St. Pauli played nearby in a stadium constructed in 1946. But due to the IGA (International Garden exposition) 1963 in Hamburg it had to be removed. On the former area the park Planten un Blomen was constructed. Within the years the capacity was reduced to 20 629 for safety reasons. The biggest change within these years was the construction of a temporary seating area above the back straight, allowing the promotion into the Bundesliga 1988. This temporary area is still in use.
In the end of the eighties plans for a new stadium, the so-called Sportdome were blocked by residents and supporters of the club. In the nineties the chairman of the club, the architect Heinz Weisener, made new plans, but they collapsed due to the financial situation of the club. The question of a new stadium looks like a never-ending story and every chairman has made their own plans.
Reconstruction since 2006
Finally in December 2006 the south stand was demolished after the game versus Wuppertal and has caused the capacity to be reduced to 15,600 people. Some troubles in the club leadership deferred the reconstruction. Some fans speak cynically of the "Littman hole", with regard to the controversial chairman Corny Littmann and the fact that a tribune is lost. But in the spring 2007 the reconstruction work started. However, with the newly reconstructed south stand (nearly finished in March 2008) and a provisional seating area above the northern stand, the capacity increased to 22,648 (2-1 victory over VfL Osnabrück 20 March 2008). The main tribune was demolished in mid-November 2009. With the new seating sections completed in time for the start of the 2010-2011 season, the capacity increased to 24,487. The completely reconstructed Millerntor stadium will have a capacity of 30,000. Completion is expected in 2014 or earlier, depending on the league results.
Progress overview
1. South stand: 3,000 standing places, 2,600 seats (1,000 business) and 10 Séparées (VIP Lounge)
2. Main tribune: 4,800 seats and 200 Séparées
3. North stand: 1940 standing places for guest supporters, 3,375 seats for home and guest
4. Back straight: 10,000 standing places, 1,175 seatsWith the reconstructed south stand the club fulfils their licence terms for the DFL, because all technical requirements (e.g. undersoil heating) are included. Further the old cult manual scoreboard is exchanged for a digital one. The old scoreboard might get a place somewhere at the stadium front.
Currently, as of summer 2011, a new official Fanshop is under construction at the Reeperbahn.
Location
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A map of the surrounding area.
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The Stadium seen from the air.
Name
From 1970–1998, the Millerntor-Stadion was known as the Wilhelm-Koch-Stadion. It was renamed to Millerntor-Stadion by the club members, due to the membership of Wilhelm Koch in the NSDAP. In 2007 the club members decided that there is to be no commercial use of the name.
Millerntor was the original site of Hamburg Observatory, built in 1802, by Johann Georg Repsold.
External links
- St. Pauli Official Website in English
- Millerntor-Stadion
- Millerntor-Stadion in German
- Atmosphere at Millerntor Stadium German
FC St. Pauli Information Seasons 2009–10Other departments Rugby2. Fußball-Bundesliga venues (2011–12) Allianz Arena · Audi Sportpark · Commerzbank-Arena · DKB-Arena · Eintracht-Stadion · Energieteam Arena · Erzgebirgsstadion · Esprit Arena · Glücksgas Stadium · Millerntor-Stadion · MSV-Arena · New Tivoli · Ruhrstadion · Stadion An der Alten Försterei · Stadion der Freundschaft · Trolli Arena · Volksbank Stadion · Wildparkstadion
Categories:- Football venues in Germany
- FC St. Pauli
- Sports venues in Hamburg
- Multi-purpose stadiums in Germany
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