Letzigrund

Stadion Letzigrund

Letzi
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Location	Zürich, Switzerland
Owner	City of Zurich
Operator	City of Zurich
Capacity	26,104 (football),[2] 30,930 (UEFA Euro 2008), 30,000 (athletics), 50,000 (concerts)
Field size	105 x 68 m
Construction
Broke ground	15 November 2005
Built	2006–2007
Opened	30 August 2007
Construction cost	CHF 120 million (2007)
Architect	Bétrix & Consolascio, Frei & Ehrensperger[1]
General contractor	Implenia
Tenants
FC Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich FC Zürich Frauen

Letzigrund (help·info) is a stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, and the home of the athletics club LC Zürich, and the football clubs FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zürich. LC Zürich is a spin-off of FC Zürich whose members constructed the stadium in 1925. Grasshopper-Club is using it as their home stadium since 2007. The annual track and field meet Weltklasse Zürich—part of the Diamond League—takes place at the Letzigrund since 1928, as well as frequent open-air concerts. On the Letzigrund track on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary was the first human being to run the 100 metres in 10,0 seconds.^[3]

Old stadium[]

Letzigrund
(old stadium)

Letzi
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Location	Zürich, Switzerland
Coordinates	47°22′58″N 8°30′16″E / 47.38278°N 8.50444°E / 47.38278; 8.50444 (Letzigrund (former stadium))
Owner	FC Zürich (1925–1937), City of Zurich (1937–2006)
Capacity	25,000 (football); 48,000 (concerts, 2006)
Construction
Opened	22 November 1925
Expanded	1947, 1958, 1973, 1984
Closed	20 August 2006
Demolished	2006
Tenants
FC Zürich,

The old stadium was opened on 22 November 1925 and was owned by FC Zürich. During the Great Depression, ownership changed to the city of Zurich in 1937 which has operated it since. It underwent extensive remodeling in 1947, 1958, 1973, and 1984. Lighting was added in 1973. The first open-air concert there was held in 1996.

The capacity was 25,000 and the main pitch was 105 by 68 meters with athletics facilities. There were also three other playing fields: 2 lawns, 1 artificial turf and a small packed sand field. The old Letzigrund also contained a bar and a restaurant within the stadium.^{[citation needed]}

Concerts[]

Matches[]

UEFA Euro 2008[]

The stadium was one of the venues for the UEFA Euro 2008.

The following games were played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2008

Date	Time (CEST)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Spectators
9 June 2008	18:00	Romania	0–0	France	Group C	30,585
13 June 2008	18:00	Italy	1–1	Romania		30,585
17 June 2008	20:45	France	0–2	Italy		30,585

International matches[]

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Competition
13 October 2007	Switzerland	3–1	Austria	Friendly
20 November 2007		0–1	Nigeria
6 February 2008	Portugal	3–1	Italy
10 September 2008	Switzerland	1–2	Luxembourg	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
1 June 2012	Italy	0–3	Russia	Friendly
31 March 2015	Switzerland	1–1	United States
29 March 2016		0–2	Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 March 2018	Egypt	1–2	Portugal
27 March 2018		0–1	Greece
29 May 2018	Kosovo	3–0	Albania
22 October 2021	Switzerland		Romania	2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
26 October 2021	Switzerland		Croatia

New stadium[]

In the Nineties, the athletics club Zürich was pushing for a modernisation of the facilities at Letzigrund in order to even better accommodate the athletes of Weltklasse Zürich. In 1997, the city parliament decided favourably on an upgrade of the stadium whereas simultaneously, the city administration was working on a reconstruction plan.^[4] At the same time, the owners of the Hardturm football stadium were also planning to reconstruct their stadium.

In 2003, the new Hardturm stadium was approved by the city population in a public vote, but subsequently, legal objections by neighbourhood and environmental groups put the timely realisation for the EURO 2008 tournament, for which it was chosen by UEFA in 2002 as one of eight venues, in jeopardy. As a result, the planning process for the new Letzigrund stadium was accelerated. In 2005, the city population approved in a vote the reconstruction of the public stadium, plus in a separate vote, the costs of temporarily adjusting the stadium to the requirements of EURO 2008.

Originally planned for 2009, the new Letzigrund stadium was opened on August 30, 2007.^[5] The first sports event there was the annual Weltklasse Zürich on September 7 with 26,500 spectators. The first football game was FC Zürich vs. Grasshopper Club Zürich on September 23. It hosted three games during the 2008 European championships, with a capacity of up to 30,000. The current capacity is 25,000 for football events, 26,000 for athletics and 50,000 for concerts.^[5]

Gallery[]

• 

  The Old Stadium viewed from the Uetliberg

• 

  Demolition of the old stadium

• 

  Building of the new stadium

• 

  Opening ceremony (August 30, 2007)

• 

  Interior view of the new Letzigrund

• 

  The new stadium

See also[]

• List of football stadiums in Switzerland

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Letzigrund-Stadion, Zürich at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website (in German)
• Stadion Letzigrund (in Russian)
• Weltklasse Zürich stadium information