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The UEFA EURO 2008™ Stadium in Salzburg/Wals-Siezenheim
The state-of-the-art UEFA EURO 2008™ Stadium in Wals-Siezenheim was officially opened on March 8, 2003.
The decision determining the host of the 2008 European Championship was reached in Geneva a few months earlier. Austria's bid to host the UEFA EURO 2008™ together with Switzerland, was successful, turning the Salzburg stadium into a European Championship stadium.
To qualify the stadium in Salzburg for the UEFA EURO 2008™, the stadium has been temporarily expanded from a seating capacity of 18,500 to 30,000.
Construction to enlarge the stadium in Salzburg commenced May 6, 2006. The highlight of the construction completed to date was the hydraulic roof-lifting operation at the end of June 2006. The 17,000 m2 roof, weighing over 2,150 tons, was raised by 10.5 meters, requiring 12 large and 56 smaller temporary supports. To comprehend the magnitude of this enterprise, the weight of the roof (2,150 tons) is equivalent to 10 Boing 747 jets or 270 elephants. Due to the favorable weather, the roof-raising operation, which took all of two days, was carried out at the end of June under ideal weather conditions with no wind. A total of 25 people were involved in the spectacular operation, which went smoothly. The enlarged stadium has been completed and ready for matches at the end of June 2007.
The UEFA EURO 2008™ Stadium in Salzburg currently uses artificial turf. It will be covered by natural grass just prior to the UEFA EURO2008™ matches (UEFA currently requires all stadiums to have a natural grass playing surface for the UEFA EURO 2008™).
(Source: http://stadion.at/
Stadium tours:
The Wals Siezenheim Stadium Society will offer tours of the stadium until May 2007. These tours can only be booked on the Internet.
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