Ernst Grube Stadium

Ernst Grube Stadium (German: Ernst-Grube-Stadion) was a multi-use stadium in Magdeburg, Germany. It was mostly used for football matches. The stadium had a capacity of 25,800 people and was built in 1955. The ground was demolished in 2005.^[1] The demolition created space for a new stadium that opened in December 2006.

Ernst Grube Stadium

Location	Magdeburg, Germany
Coordinates	52°07′36″N 11°40′17″E
Owner	City of Magdeburg
Capacity	25,800
Construction
Built	1955
Opened	September 18, 1955
Closed	December 2004
Demolished	March 2005 - June 2005
Tenants
1. FC Magdeburg (until 2004), SC Magdeburg

The stadium hosted the home matches of 1. FC Magdeburg until 2004.^[2] The last competitive match was played there on December 4, 2004 against FSV Zwickau.

History

In 5 November 1933 Germany played a friendly match against Norway (2:2) on the site of the stadium which was named Stadion am Gübser Damm.

After the Second World War, the city of Magdeburg planned to erect a sports center consisting among others of a stadium with a capacity for 80,000 people and a natatorium. However, the city was unable to acquire the site originally intended and so the initial project was abandoned. Instead, the city decided to build a new stadium east of the Elbe river, at the site of the SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg stadium. In order to erect the stands, about 5.3×10^⁶ cu ft (150,000 m³) of rubble were transported from the ruins of the city. The stadium was equipped with an athletics track and was opened in front of a crowd of 40,000 on September 18, 1955.

Over the years, it was upgraded several times, parts of the stands were put under a roof, and floodlights were installed. However, after the reunification of Germany the stadium gradually fell into disrepair and in 2004 the city council decided to build a new one at the same site. The Ernst-Grube-Stadion was demolished between March and June 2005, and construction of the new stadium began on July 4, 2005.