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The football-mad people of Cologne felt a mixture of relief and exhilaration when their fine new stadium finally opened in the spring of 2004: Germany's fourth-largest city failed to make the cut in 1974 and missed out on that year's FIFA World Cup. The new 46,000 capacity purpose-built football arena saw the Cologne home this time around against stiff competition from neighbouring cities. The FIFA World Cup stadium Cologne will host four group games and a match in the round of sixteen come summer 2006.

The new arena, constructed on the site of the old Müngersdorfer stadium, staged its inaugural match on 31 March 2004 with a friendly between Germany and Belgium. The ground continued to operate during the two-year construction phase as the four stands were demolished and replaced in turn.

The former stadium featured a running track, but the new arena has been designed as a compact, intense space with atmosphere and passion guaranteed. The steeply banked upper tiers feature a 34 degree rake, with the pitch separated from the stands by less than eight metres. A quartet of 72 metre masts both support the roof and act as trademark illuminated beacons. Nowadays, visitors approaching the Rhineland metropolis from the West can hardly fail to miss the four towers of light sending out a clear signal: welcome to Cologne!

Bundesliga perennials 1. FC Cologne play here, and the stadium houses the club museum. A clutch of Germany's finest and most loved players including Wolfgang Overath, Toni Schumacher, Pierre Littbarski and Thomas Häßler enjoyed sparkling success at the ground, all of them finally taking leave of the game at the venerable Müngersdorfer.

The first stadium on the site opened its doors in 1923 before the new arena's predecessor hosted its inaugural match in 1975. Over the years, the stadium in Cologne has welcomed a vast number of world-renowned personalities ranging from the Rolling Stones to the Pope.

Financing:
€25.7 million from the City of Cologne, the remainder from owner/operator Kölner Sportstätten GmbH.