The one-month World Cup starting tomorrow will be played in 12 stadiums in 12 cities. The opener between Germany and Costa Rica will be in Munich while the new world champion will be declared in Berlin Berlin The Berlin Olympic Stadium has hosted its fair share of momentous, epoch-making events, but 9 July 2006 is destined to eclipse everything that has gone before. A global audience of well over a billion is set to follow the 2006 World Cup final live on TV. Reconstruction at a cost of 242m euros began in the summer of 2000. A spectacular gala opening ceremony took place on 31 July 2004. Hertha BSC Berlin contested the first match at the facelifted arena against Besiktas Istanbul on 1 August. The following month, World Cup holders Brazil met Germany in the inaugural international. Its gross capacity is 74,220 and total seating capacity is 66,021. Hamburg The new stadium in Hamburg, inaugurated on 2 September 2000 with a match between Germany and Greece, boasts a capacity of 56,114 for Bundesliga matches. The arena officially qualifies as one of the best football grounds in Europe after earning a maximum five stars from UEFA. The function rooms, VIP and media areas were completely remodelled. All the spectator areas are now covered. The stadium is home to Hamburg SV, the only club ever-present in the German top-flight throughout the Bundesliga's 42-year history. The old Volksparkstadion was reconstructed in 1953 on the debris and ashes of the previous arena. Its gross capacity is 51,055 and total seating capacity is 45,442. Hanover The arena, boasting a 50,000 capacity for Bundesliga fixtures, features a free-standing, 2,500 ton roof supporting structure. The sections of the roof overhanging the playing surface are constructed from an ultra-violet permeable foil, ensuring the pitch receives the light it needs to remain in perfect condition. The Niedersachsenstadion was completed in 1954 and has been home to Hannover 96 since 1959. Building work began in March 2003 with the demolition of the North stand. Investment equalled 64 million euros. Its gross capacity and total seating capacity is 39,297. Gelsenkirchen The Arena was officially opened on 13 and 14 August 2001, immediately setting a new benchmark in the art of stadium construction. European governing body UEFA assigned the multi-functional Arena to the highest-possible five-star category, commenting: "This venue more than fulfills the necessary criteria, and might even qualify as a 'Six-star stadium'." By early 2005, the Arena had staged more than 150 events and attracted over eight million spectators. Schalke , who celebrated their centenary in 2004, play their home games here. Investment reached 191 million euros. Its gross capacity is 53,804 and total seating capacity 48,426. Stuttgart The citizens of Stuttgart have been treated to sporting, cultural and even historic scenes plenty at their Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion. The third phase of the 2006 World Cup modernisation programme began in January 2004. The Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was improved to World Cup standard as early as 1999-2001, with an investment of around DM 107m on the main stand. The focal point was the new Business Centre with 44 executive boxes, 1,500 business seats, a multi-storey car park with direct access, and facilities for visitors, athletes and the media. The stadium is home to renowned Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart. Investment reached 51.5 million euros with gross capacity of 53,200 and total seating capacity of 47,757. Frankenstadion Only three of the stadiums at the 2006 World Cup continue to feature an athletics track: Berlin, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. The remaining venues are all football-only stadiums. The playing area has been lowered and additional seating installed to increase the number of seats by 5,500 to 45,500 (Bundesliga capacity). All reconstruction measures were completed in April 2005. The new Frankenstadion hosted three matches at the Confederations Cup 2005. The original 50,000 capacity Municipal Stadium took just three years to construct before opening in 1928. Investment equalled 56 million euros with gross capacity of 41,926 and total seating capacity of 36,898. Munich The arena chosen to host the German national team in the opening match of the World Cup on 9 June boasts a truly unique exterior, guaranteeing the stadium a place among the most unusual and spectacular venues in the world. The 66,000 capacity stadium was inaugurated on 30 and 31 May 2005 by joint owners TSV 1860 Munich and FC Bayern Munich, Germany's most successful club. OC President Franz Beckenbauer led the ceremony to lay the foundation stone in October 2002. The seven-storey structure was completed in April 2005. In March 2004, FIFA named Munich as the venue for the official opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup. The ceremony takes place ahead of the opening match on 9 June 2006. The 2006 FIFA Congress will also be convened in Munich. Investment equalled approximately 280 million euros. The stadium's gross capacity equals 66,016 while total seating capacity is 59,416. Leipzig After the completion of the Leipzig Zentralstadion in December 2003, the trading metropolis of Leipzig gained an architecturally distinctive and technically advanced football stadium. The 45,000-seat arena was commissioned specifically for the 2006 World Cup. Leipzig will stage four group stage matches and a match in the round of 16 at the showcase event. The new heart of the tradition-rich Leipzig Sportforum offers a unique blend of past and future. The "old" Zentralstadion, which opened in 1956 after a 15-month construction phase, was once the largest stadium in Germany with a capacity of 100,000. Its construction cost 90.6 million euros. Its gross capacity is 44,199 with a total seating capacity of 38,898. Cologne 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 World Cup. The new 46,000 capacity purpose-built football arena saw the Cologne home this time around against stiff competition from neighbouring cities. Cologne will host four group games and a match in the round of 16. Investment equalled 119 million euros with a total seating capacity of 40,590. Kaizserslautern The Fritz-Walter-Stadion opened its doors in 1920. It is situated on the Betzenberg, a 40 metre sandstone hillock at the heart of the Palatinate metropolis, and was named after the legendary German 1954 World Cup winning captain in 1985. Reconstruction for the World Cup was completed in November 2005. FC Kaiserslautern boast one of German football's richest and most colourful histories. The 'Red Devils' have won the German championship on four occasions, most recently and uniquely in Bundesliga history as a promoted club in 1997-8 under coach Otto Rehhagel. Investment equalled 48.3 million euros with gross capacity of 43.450 and total seating capacity of 39.820. Frankfurt A minimalist supporting structure combined with a flood of natural light through the translucent roof provide the World Cup stadium in Frankfurt with a soaring, cathedral-like atmosphere. Work on the futuristic stadium began in mid-2002, resulting in a worthy successor to the "old" Waldstadion and its plethora of sporting memories. Most recently, the new arena hosted the Confederations Cup 2005 final between Brazil and Argentina. Construction lasted three years. The Waldstadion is home to Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, whose best-known former players Bernd Hölzenbein and Jèrgen Grabowski represent the city as World Cup ambassadors. Alongside construction costs of 126 million euros, a further 45 million euros has been invested in the local road and rail infrastructure. Its gross capacity is 48,132 with 43,324 total seating capacity. Dortmund Known nationwide as the Bundesliga's opera house, the Westfalenstadion was originally built for the 1974 World Cup. Borussia Dortmund play their home games here, practically always in front of sell-out crowds. In November 2001, the authorities resolved to join up the four separate stands, increasing the all- seat capacity to around 67,000. This phase of the reconstruction project was completed in late summer 2003. A further modernisation programme took place in summer 2005. Investment reached 40m euros plus 5.5m euros in a modernisation programme. It has gross capacity of 65,982 and total seating capacity of 60,285.
