Südweststadion

Geschichte

Südweststadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany and was built in 1950. The stadium could hold up 41,383 people. After the renovation in 2007, the maximum capacity was limited to 6,100 people. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is occasionally used has home ground by FSV Oggersheim. The stadium hosted several important matches, such as four international matches of West Germany, two West German Cup finals and the Bundesliga championship match was played in the stadium.HistoryIn 1937 the first stadium was constructed on the site of the current Südweststadion. The new stadium was named after Adolf Hitler and could hold 14,000 people. During the Allied bombings of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen am Rhein during World War II, the stadium was completely damaged and a new stadium had to be built. In 1946 the new foundations for the stadium were constructed and on November 11, 1950 the stadium was inaugurated. During that time it was considered to be one of West Germany’s most modern stadiums and several important West German matches were held at the stadium. When it was announced that West Germany would host the 1974 World Championship Football, the city of Ludwigshafen applied first as candidate venue at the organization committee. The committee finally favored Frankfurt’s Waldstadion instead of the Südweststadion. Between 1983 and 1989 SV Waldhof Mannheim played her Bundesliga matches in the Südweststadion. After that, the stadium fell into disrepair. In 2007, the stadium was partially renovated.